Speaker
Description
Screening for breast cancer and disease is a routine and common practice among woman. Early detection of cancerous tumours has been shown to greatly reduce mortality. Commonly screening is performed using two-dimensional ultrasound, or mammographic imaging. A smaller dense breast is difficult to image on a mammogram system, and is more likely to be ultrasonically probed. Moreover, standard 2D ultrasound suffers from user variability, and lacks volumetric information. Any identified suspicious regions are then selected for a biopsy procedure, in order to extract histological information. A prototype medical device has been developed and built at Western University to provide an innovative technique to provide a more point of care (POC) 3D automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) approach. In this design, the breast is surrounded in an acoustic compatible structure, which then allows for ultrasound imaging to be acquired of the underlying breast anatomy. This ABUS device offers a portable, cost-effective, and high-resolution imaging solution. A commercially available ultrasound transducer, the 14L5 by Canon Medical Systems Canada Ltd, was integrated into a motorized translational stage that rests atop an enclosed mechanical frame. Spatially tracked two-dimensional ultrasound images are then passively captured, which are then rendered into a volume. Imaging was performed in phantoms, and linear measurement errors were 0.06±0.09, 0.05±0.06, 0.15±0.07 mm (N=22 each) in lateral, elevational, and axial US directions, respectively. Volumetric reconstruction error was 1.98±1.34% (N=10) in spherical inclusions of known volumes. FWHM measurements in the 3D image resulted in increased resolution uniformity. Images of healthy female volunteers were also acquired that demonstrate whole-breast 3DUS imaging with clear anatomical structures and details. The proposed prototype device show potential as an alternative, accurate, and high-resolution approach for whole-breast 3DUS imaging. These results demonstrate potential utility toward breast cancer screening in increased-risk populations independent of breast density.
| Keyword-1 | Cancer |
|---|---|
| Keyword-2 | Point-of-Care |
| Keyword-3 | Three-Dimensional Ultrasound |
