Novel Method for Detection of Breast Microcalcifications Using Ultrasound-A Preliminary Study.

摘要

Ultrasound imaging has become a valuable adjunct for imaging of the breast, especially in younger women with dense breasts. If the capability to reliably detect microcalcifications with conventional ultrasound equipment did exist, the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound imaging for the detection of early breast cancer would increase dramatically A new approach recently developed at the University of Missouri-Columbia has the potential to render microcalcifications detectable by a standard ultrasound scanner. The primary objective of the project is to prove that this approach has potential to detect microcalcifications in dense breast tissue. The initial task undertaken was to perform computer simulations of the scattering problem using models of the ultrasound beams and scattering from microcalcifications. Verification of the scattering simulation is underway using phantoms. The final goal of the project will be to obtain breast cancer specimens from clinical cases. These specimens will be imaged with a clinical mammography system to locate microcalcifications embedded within. Then the specimens will be imaged in the laboratory ultrasound system using the new technique.