An Ultrasound System for Tumor Detection in Soft Tissues Using Low Transient Pulse

Abstract

Different techniques are used for breast tumor detection that include microwave imaging, X-ray imaging, and magnetic resonance imaging. They provide accurate assessment of tumor size and location but suffer from some inherent drawbacks. Ultrasound is a detection technique that has been demonstrated as the one without harmful side effects on patients. This paper presents a method to detect the size and location of echogenic tumor in soft tissues using ultrasound. Quantitative ultrasound is utilized to allow an ultrasound signal to be sent from a transmitter to multiple receivers. This received signal is analyzed for echogenic and echolucent tumors to differentiate between them, along with a non-tumor sample. It is also studied for the delay and signal distortion, in order to determine the tumor location. The results are implemented by using field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA) and digital-signal-processor (DSP) technologies. The low transient pulse (LTP) technique is successfully utilized to generate the required short-duration ultrasonic signals in the proposed system. This codesign demonstrates a good application of the FPGA/DSP platform for LTP generation and processing received signals.