Quantitative Mechanical Imaging for Improving Breast Ultrasound Diagnosis

定量机械成像改善乳腺超声诊断

• 批准号: 8089574
• 负责人: TIMOTHY J HALL
• 金额: $ 60.56万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-07-01 至 2014-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8089574
• 关键词: Algorithms; Benign; Biomechanics; Boston; Breast; Breast Cancer Detection; Breast Cancer Early Detection; Breast Diseases; Calibration; Clinical; Clinical Data; Clinical Trials; Collaborations; Collection; Computer software; Data; Detection; Development; Devices; Diagnosis; Diagnostic; Differential Diagnosis; Disease; Ear; Early Diagnosis; Early treatment; Elasticity; Environment; Evaluation; Friends; Generations; Goals; Health; Histocompatibility Testing; Image; In Vitro; Laboratories; Malignant - descriptor; Mammary Gland Parenchyma; Measurement; Measures; Mechanics; Medical; Methods; Multi-Institutional Clinical Trial; Noninfiltrating Intraductal Carcinoma; Outcome; Performance; Property; Relative (related person); Research; Safety; Skin; Solutions; Specificity; Stress; Sum; Surface; System; Tactile; Technology; Testing; Time; Tissue Sample; Tissues; Transducers; Ultrasonic Transducer; Ultrasonography; Universities; Work; base; data acquisition; design; diagnostic accuracy; feeding; improved; in vivo; meetings; next generation; outcome forecast; pressure; prototype; reconstruction; research clinical testing; research study; sensor; simulation; two-dimensional

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a proposal to develop new ultrasound technology to image and quantify the nonlinear elastic properties of in vivo breast tissues with the intent of significantly improving the specificity of breast ultrasound. The proposed research will incorporate a pressure sensor array into a two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound transducer array. The combined device will be used to measure the contact pressure during ultrasound elasticity imaging of the breast. Measurements of the total applied pressure distributions and corresponding 3D strain fields in the breast will feed into three principle imaging advances. First, it allows calibrations of relative mechanical strain images for comparing image contrast at known applied stress levels. Second, it provides calibration information to allow quantitative reconstruction in 3D of (linear) shear elastic modulus. Third, measuring the applied stress from the instant of contact allows an unbiased evaluation of elastic nonlinearity. Any of these three goals represents a significant improvement over current technology, and would likely improve differential diagnosis of breast masses. Preliminary data demonstrate the potential gain from such a device. First, significant improvement in strain image quality is available when 3D tracking, enabled by a 2D array, is employed. Second, the elastic nonlinearity of various tissue types appears to be unique, and of potential significance for differentiating stiff malignant masses from stiff benign masses. Recent results suggest that it is possible to image the elastic nonlinearity parameter of breast tissues. Third, measurements of ex vivo breast tissue samples found that ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) has the highest elastic nonlinearity of all tissues considered. Thus, although this proposal is targeted toward increasing breast ultrasound specificity, the proposed technology opens the intriguing possibility of directly imaging the 3D distribution of DCIS in the breast, which would have a profound impact on breast cancer screening, early detection and treatment prognosis. The study involves sensor development, extensive laboratory testing and the collection of clinical data to optimize the performance of the combined imaging/pressure sensor device in a clinical environment. This proposal will create a prototype of the next-generation real-time elasticity imaging system for improving breast disease detection and diagnosis. That system and the methods developed in this proposal can be replicated for a large-scale clinical trial to evaluate the accuracy performance of Quantitative Mechanical Imaging. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This is a proposal to develop new ultrasound technology to image and quantify the nonlinear elastic properties of in vivo breast tissues with the intent of significantly improving the specificity of breast ultrasound. The proposed effort involves creating a two-dimensional ultrasound array transducer that has an integrated tactile sensor array for detecting the contact pressure distribution during elasticity imaging experiments. The resulting calibrated 3D strain images and images of elastic nonlinearity also show promise for directly imaging ductal carcinoma in situ, thereby potentially improving early detection of breast cancer.

描述（由申请人提供）：这是一项开发新的超声技术的提案，用于对体内乳腺组织的非线性弹性特性进行成像和量化，目的是显著提高乳腺超声的特异性。拟议的研究将把一个压力传感器阵列到一个二维（2D）超声换能器阵列。该组合装置将用于测量乳房超声弹性成像过程中的接触压力。对乳房中的总施加压力分布和相应的3D应变场的测量将提供给三个主要成像进展。首先，它允许校准相对机械应变图像，用于在已知的施加应力水平下比较图像对比度。其次，它提供校准信息，以允许（线性）剪切弹性模量的3D定量重建。第三，从接触的瞬间测量施加的应力允许弹性非线性的无偏评估。这三个目标中的任何一个都代表了对当前技术的重大改进，并可能改善乳腺肿块的鉴别诊断。初步数据显示了这种装置的潜在收益。首先，当采用由2D阵列实现的3D跟踪时，应变图像质量的显著改善是可用的。第二，各种组织类型的弹性非线性似乎是唯一的，并且对于区分僵硬的恶性肿块和僵硬的良性肿块具有潜在的意义。最近的研究结果表明，它是可能的图像的弹性非线性参数的乳腺组织。第三，离体乳腺组织样本的测量发现，导管原位癌（DCIS）具有最高的弹性非线性的所有组织考虑。因此，尽管该提案旨在提高乳腺超声特异性，但所提出的技术开辟了直接成像乳腺DCIS 3D分布的有趣可能性，这将对乳腺癌筛查，早期检测和治疗预后产生深远影响。该研究涉及传感器开发、广泛的实验室测试和临床数据收集，以优化组合成像/压力传感器设备在临床环境中的性能。该提案将创建下一代实时弹性成像系统的原型，以改善乳腺疾病的检测和诊断。该系统和本提案中开发的方法可以复制用于大规模临床试验，以评估定量机械成像的准确性性能。公共卫生关系：这是一项开发新超声技术来成像和量化体内乳腺组织非线性弹性特性的提议，旨在显着提高乳腺超声的特异性。所提出的努力涉及创建一个二维的超声阵列换能器，具有集成的触觉传感器阵列，用于检测弹性成像实验过程中的接触压力分布。由此产生的校准的三维应变图像和图像的弹性非线性也显示出直接成像导管癌原位的承诺，从而可能提高乳腺癌的早期检测。