An Automated Breast Ultrasound Scanner with Integrated Shear Wave Elastography, Doppler Flow Imaging and Photoacoustic Tomography

摘要

We have integrated shear wave elasticity, Doppler flow imaging, and photoacoustic tomography into the SonixEm-brace automated breast ultrasound scanner (ABUS). This system can acquire a multimodal volumetric scan of the entire breast in under ten minutes. We present here a series of phantom studies demonstrating the capabilities of this combined system for the first time. We imaged a commercially available elastography training phantom, measuring the stiffness of the background material to be 17.5 ± 0.1 kPa and the stiffness of the inclusions to be 32.3 ± 0.3 kPa, as compared to the manufacturer's provided values of 20 ± 5 kPa and ~40 kPa, respectively. We imaged a knotted tube phantom, demonstrating the computation and scan conversion of volumetric Doppler flow data. Finally, we developed and imaged a multimodal phantom incorporating inclusions which are uniquely visible in either elasticity or photoacoustic imaging.