Abstract
.We present the Twente Photoacoustic Mammoscope 2, a photoacoustic breast imaging system employing a tomographic configuration. It images one breast pendant inside an imaging tank filled with water while a woman lies prone on a bed. A dual-head laser (755 and 1064 nm) illuminates the breast with one beam directed at the nipple and nine beams directed at the sides. Ultrasound signals are detected using 12 arc-shaped arrays, each curving along the pendant breast. Each array comprises 32 piezocomposite elements each with a center frequency of 1 MHz. The imaging tank and the ultrasound arrays rotate around the breast in steps to obtain additional multiple projections. Three-dimensional images are reconstructed using a filtered backprojection algorithm. The system is described in detail, and measurements on a test object are presented. As part of a preliminary study to assess the system’s in vivo performance, the breasts of two healthy volunteers were imaged. These images show the breast contour, the nipple, and the vascular anatomy within the breast. In the nipple of one case, multiple high-intensity “hot spots” are observed, which we suspect are associated with the lactiferous ducts terminating in the nipple.
Highlights
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer as well as the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide.[1]
Conventional imaging techniques currently used in the clinic are x-ray mammography (MMG), ultrasonography (US), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).[3]
Photoacoustic signals are detected in a tomographic scan by 384 single elements placed around the breast with a center frequency of 1 MHz and a −6-dB fractional bandwidth of 100%
Summary
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer as well as the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide.[1] Imaging is an important aid in the detection, diagnosis, and treatment monitoring and follow-up of breast cancer.[2] Conventional imaging techniques currently used in the clinic are x-ray mammography (MMG), ultrasonography (US), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).[3] MMG is the only method utilized in organized screening programs in several countries around the globe since it is the only method proven to reduce mortality.[4] It does, require (often painful) breast compression, makes use of ionizing radiation, and the detection sensitivity in dense breasts is relatively low.[5] US is used only in the diagnostic trajectory and is often employed for targeted examinations of palpable lesions and lesions detected in screening It is the primary method used for guiding biopsies. It requires the administration of contrast agents, does not have a high specificity, is expensive, and is not widely disseminated.[3,7] Each technique has its strengths and its weaknesses, leaving room for new imaging techniques that can potentially overcome the current limitations and drawbacks
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.