In Vivo Breast Imaging and Tissue Evaluation by Vibro-acoustic Methods

项目简介：触诊是检测乳腺恶性病变最简单但最有效的方法之一，因为乳腺肿瘤的硬度通常与周围组织有很大差异。多年来，乳房x线摄影一直是乳房成像的主要工具，主要用于检测与乳腺恶性肿瘤相关的微钙化（MCs）。然而，这种方法的灵敏度有限，特别是在致密的乳房中。传统的b超（US）成像越来越多地用于乳房成像。然而，该方法对组织刚度不敏感。此外，美国成像存在掩盖小结构的斑点伪影；因此，这种方法很难检测到MCs。已经投入了大量的精力来开发改进的乳房成像技术，特别是那些提供触诊样信息的技术。振动声成像（VA）是一种新型的无创成像方法，可以产生类似触诊的信息。由于VA使用了一种新的、独特的组织内在特征，因此需要对其进行充分的研究，以将其能力与更传统的乳房成像技术进行比较。使用实验VA系统，我们已经证明了这种方法在体内乳房成像，识别病变和MCs的能力。根据结果，下一个合乎逻辑的步骤是过渡到“临床”乳房VA成像系统。使用阵列换能器是将VA从实验阶段转化为临床应用的重要一步，使用现代手持探针电子扫描技术。本研究的目的是研究基于阵列换能器的乳腺成像系统。在这里，我们研究了线性阵列探针与临床超声扫描仪结合的乳房成像，并评估其在识别人类乳房病变方面的性能。该组合系统将具有为乳腺应用产生合适分辨率的VA和US图像的能力。本研究的目标将在四个具体目标中实现：(1)开发具有线性阵列探针的VA系统；(2)利用乳房模型对新型VA系统的性能进行量化；(3)在乳腺组织样本上测试系统的性能；(4)对人体乳房进行测试。这项研究的成功完成将为一种新型的乳房成像工具开辟道路。VA提供的特征组合，如对硬度的敏感性，图像中没有斑点，对微钙化的敏感性，将对乳腺癌的检测产生重大影响。相关性：本研究旨在开发一种新的乳腺成像工具。在这项研究中，我们检查了这种新方法的有效性，作为一种诊断工具，在识别乳房病变和乳腺癌。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Project summary: Palpation remains one of the simplest yet effective methods for detecting malignant breast lesions because the stiffness of breast tumors usually differs significantly from surrounding tissues. Mammography has been the main tool of breast imaging for many years, mostly to detect microcalcifications (MCs) which can be associated with breast malignancies. However, this method has limited sensitivity, especially in dense breasts. Conventional B-mode ultrasound (US) imaging has been increasingly used for breast imaging. However, this method is not sensitive to tissue stiffness. Besides, US imaging suffers from speckle artifact that masks small structures; thus, it is difficult to detect MCs with this method. Significant effort has been invested to develop improved breast imaging techniques, especially those that provide palpation-like information. Vibro-acoustography (VA) is a novel non-invasive imaging method that produces palpation-like information. Since VA uses a new and unique intrinsic characteristic of tissue, it needs to be fully investigated to compare its capabilities to the more traditional breast imaging techniques. Using an experimental VA system, we have demonstrated the capability of this method to image breast in vivo, identify lesions and MCs. In the light of the results, the next logical step is to transition to a "clinical" breast VA imaging system. Using an array transducer is an important step in translating VA from experimental stage to clinical applications using a modern electronic scanning technique with a hand-held probe. The purpose of this research is to investigate the VA system based on an array transducer for breast imaging. Here, we study breast imaging with a linear array probe in conjunctin with a clinical US scanner and evaluate its performance in identification of lesions in human breast. The combined system will have the capability of producing VA and US images with suitable resolution for breast applicaions. The goals of this research will be achieved in 4 specific Aims: (1) Develop a VA system with a linear-array probe; (2) quantify the performance of the new VA system using breast phanotms; (3) Test the performance of the system on breast tissue samples; (4) Test the system on human breast. Successful completion of this research will open the way for a new class of breast imaging tools. The combination of features offered by VA, such as sensitivity to stiffness, lack of speckle in image, and sensitivity to microcalcifications, would have a significant impact in breast cancer detection. Relevance: This research aims at developing a new tool for breast imaging. In this study we examine the effectiveness of this new method as a diagnostic tool in identification of breast lesions and breast cancer.