Fast-Acoustico Optic Tomography System

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) supports research development of innovative image acquisition methods based on the combination of acoustic and optical technologies. Physical Optics Corporation proposes development of the new Fast Acousto-Optic Tomography System (FAOTS) as an auxiliary tool to the conventional ultrasound breast examination that often follows a screening mammography. The innovative FAOTS will provide images with better contrast then sonography because the optical properties of normal tissue and tissue with neoplasia differ much more than their acoustic properties. FAOTS will use a tightly focused ultrasound beam to shift the frequency of photons at a certain location in a tissue. The FAOTS performance will be based on a combination of the heterodyne detection scheme and a parallel signal acquisition by multiple photodetectors on the CMOS chip, followed by a Fourier transform in the spatial domain to detect interference fringes between photons with the shifted frequency, and the reference optical beam with the same frequency shift. The utilization of a high speed (>1000 frames per second) CMOS camera with a large memory capacity will allow for data collection in a time interval such that speckle decorrelation in the live tissue will not affect system operation. In Phase I, POC will design, fabricate, assemble, and test the laboratory prototype, and demonstrate its major operational parameters (image resolution, image contrast, and fast data acquisition time, proving its ability to work with living tissues). In Phase II, POC will design and fabricate an engineering prototype for testing its operation in clinical settings. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: As an auxiliary tool to conventional breast ultrasound examination following a screening mammography, the proposed Fast Acousto-Optic Tomography System (FAOTS) will improve chances for earlier neoplasia detection by providing images with better contrast than sonography and with comparable (or better) spatial resolution. The contrast enhancement is attributed to higher variations of optical properties for malignant tissues compare to the variation of their acoustic properties. The proposed non-invasive and non-ionizing imaging tool will increase specificity and improve the PPV of breast investigation, while reducing the number of unnecessary needle biopsies.