Development platform for acoustoelectric impedance tomography in internal radiation therapy

内放射治疗声电阻抗断层扫描开发平台

• 批准号: RTI-2020-00140
• 负责人: Rossa, Carlos
• 金额: $ 10.93万
• 依托单位: University of Ontario Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Research Tools and Instruments
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=693750
• 关键词: Development; platform; acoustoelectric; impedance; tomography

Breast and prostate cancers are the most common invasive cancers amongst Canadian women and men, respectively. Currently, 1 in 7 Canadian men will develop prostate cancer during their lifetime and 1 in 27 will die from it; a ratio of 1 death per 4 diagnoses, similar to the ratio observed for breast cancer in women. Cervical cancer is another major health problem amongst Canadian women with 1550 cases diagnosed and an estimated 400 deaths in 2017. Internal radiation therapy is a common minimally invasive treatment for these conditions. In this procedure, long needles are inserted percutaneously into the tumour under ultrasound image guidance to permanently implant radioactive seeds whose emitted radiation treats the cancer cells as it decays over the course of several weeks. It is well-recognized that ultrasound imaging lacks the resolution required to visualize and delineate cancerous structures and abnormalities in internal radiation therapy. In fact, physicians can target hypoechoic regions but it has been reported that up to 40% of these cancers are invisible under ultrasound, making tumour targeting extremely difficult. ******We are developing a new imaging method for internal radiation therapy. In our approach, needles are instrumented with tiny electrodes that are able to measure the electric conductivity of the tissue and used to create tomographic images of the cancerous tissue from within it, and that with much higher contrast than that of ultrasound images. Focused ultrasound beams are then applied to the tissue to alter the local electrical conductivity, which in turn changes the tomographic images. This allows extracting more information about the tissue from data that has been enriched by coupling electric impedance tomography and localized acoustic pressure. The result is a set of images of the inner tissue that combines the contrast of impedance tomography and the resolution of ultrasound images. It has the potential to image tissue inclusions and lesions that are otherwise not visible in traditional ultrasound imaging. More accurate imaging will make treatment for leading forms of cancer more efficient and enable internal to be considered for other types of cancers. ******The continuity of our research requires immediate access to an ultrasound machine with an open architecture, arbitrary waveform generation, and radio frequency (RF) data acquisition capabilities, and a means of tracking surgical tools in tissue. In this proposal, funding is requested to acquire a research ultrasound machine with an open architecture and an electromagnetic tool tracking system that are needed to upgrade our experimental setup. Combined, the equipment will form a state of the art research platform for the development of a new imaging method for cancer diagnosis and treatment. **

乳腺癌和前列腺癌分别是加拿大女性和男性中最常见的浸润性癌症。目前，七分之一的加拿大男性会在一生中患上前列腺癌，二十七分之一的人会死于前列腺癌；每4例诊断中有1例死亡，与观察到的妇女乳腺癌的比率相似。宫颈癌是加拿大妇女的另一个主要健康问题，2017年诊断出1550例，估计有400例死亡。对于这些疾病，内部放射治疗是一种常见的微创治疗。在这个过程中，在超声图像引导下，长针经皮插入肿瘤，永久植入放射性种子，其放射的辐射在几周内治疗癌细胞，使其衰变。众所周知，在内部放射治疗中，超声成像缺乏可视化和描绘癌性结构和异常所需的分辨率。事实上，医生可以瞄准低回声区域，但据报道，高达40%的这些癌症在超声波下是看不见的，这使得肿瘤靶向非常困难。******我们正在开发一种用于内部放射治疗的新成像方法。在我们的方法中，针头上装有微小的电极，可以测量组织的电导率，并用于从癌变组织内部创建层析成像，其对比度远高于超声成像。然后将聚焦的超声波光束应用于组织以改变局部电导率，从而改变断层成像图像。通过耦合电阻抗层析成像和局部声压，可以从数据中提取更多关于组织的信息。结果是一组内部组织的图像，结合了阻抗断层扫描的对比度和超声图像的分辨率。它具有成像组织内含物和病变的潜力，否则在传统超声成像中是不可见的。更精确的成像将使主要癌症形式的治疗更有效，并使内部能够考虑用于其他类型的癌症。******我们研究的连续性需要立即使用具有开放架构，任意波形生成，射频（RF）数据采集能力的超声机器，以及跟踪组织中手术工具的方法。在本提案中，申请资金用于购买具有开放式架构的研究超声机和电磁工具跟踪系统，以升级我们的实验设置。结合起来，这些设备将形成一个最先进的研究平台，用于开发用于癌症诊断和治疗的新成像方法。**