Fast-Acoustico Optic Tomography System

描述（申请人提供）：国家生物医学成像与生物工程研究所（NIBIB）支持基于声学和光学技术相结合的创新图像采集方法的研究开发。物理光学公司建议开发新的快速声光断层扫描系统（FAOTS），作为常规超声乳房检查的辅助工具，通常是在筛查乳房x光检查之后。创新的FAOTS将提供比超声成像更好的图像对比度，因为正常组织和肿瘤组织的光学特性比它们的声学特性差异大得多。FAOTS将使用紧密聚焦的超声波束来改变组织中特定位置的光子频率。FAOTS的性能将基于外差检测方案和CMOS芯片上多个光电探测器的并行信号采集的组合，然后在空间域中进行傅里叶变换以检测频率移位的光子与具有相同频率移位的参考光束之间的干涉条纹。利用具有大存储容量的高速（每秒1000帧）CMOS相机将允许在一段时间间隔内收集数据，使得活体组织中的斑点去相关不会影响系统操作。在第一阶段，POC将设计、制造、组装和测试实验室原型，并演示其主要操作参数（图像分辨率、图像对比度和快速数据采集时间，证明其与活体组织一起工作的能力）。在第二阶段，POC将设计和制造一个工程原型，以测试其在临床环境中的操作。公共卫生相关性：作为筛查性乳房x线照相术后常规乳腺超声检查的辅助工具，提出的快速声光断层扫描系统（FAOTS）将通过提供比超声更好的对比度和类似（或更好）的空间分辨率的图像，提高早期肿瘤检测的机会。与声学特性的变化相比，恶性组织的光学特性的变化更高，这是对比度增强的原因。提出的非侵入性和非电离成像工具将增加特异性，提高乳房检查的PPV，同时减少不必要的针活检次数。

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.