Ultrasound Tomography.

Ultrasound tomography (USCT) is a promising imaging modality, mainly aiming at early diagnosis of breast cancer. It provides three-dimensional, reproducible images of higher quality than conventional ultrasound methods and additionally offers quantitative information on tissue properties. This chapter provides an introduction to the background and history of USCT, followed by an overview of image reconstruction algorithms and system design.

Single-Fiber Transducer Arrays for 3-D Ultrasound Computed Tomography: From Requirements to Results.

A potential method for future breast cancer screening is 3-D ultrasound computed tomography (USCT). The utilized image reconstruction algorithms require transducer characteristics fundamentally different from conventional transducer arrays, leading to the necessity of a custom design. This design has to provide random transducer positioning, isotropic sound emission as well as a large bandwidth and wide opening angle.

Ultrasonic Synthetic-Aperture Interface Imaging.

Synthetic-aperture (SA) imaging is a popular method to visualize the reflectivity of an object from ultrasonic reflections. The method yields an image of the (volume) contrast in acoustic impedance with respect to the embedding. Typically, constant mass density is assumed in the underlying derivation.

Comparing different ultrasound imaging methods for breast cancer detection.

Ultrasound is frequently used to evaluate suspicious masses in breasts. These evaluations could be improved by taking advantage of advanced imaging algorithms, which become feasible for low frequencies if accurate knowledge about the phase and amplitude of the wave field illuminating the volume of interest is available. In this study, we compare five imaging and inversion methods: time-of-flight tomography, synthetic aperture focusing technique, backpropagation, Born inversion, and contrast source inversion.

4D co-registration of X-ray and MR-mammograms: initial clinical results and potential incremental diagnostic value.

Purpose: 4D co-registration of X-ray- and MR-mammograms (XM and MM) is a new method of image fusion. The present study aims to evaluate its clinical feasibility, radiological accuracy, and potential clinical value.

Methods: XM and MM of 25 patients were co-registered.

3D ultrasound computer tomography of the breast: a new era?

A promising candidate for imaging of breast cancer is ultrasound computer tomography (USCT). The main advantages of a USCT system are simultaneous recording of reproducible reflection, attenuation and speed of sound volumes, high image quality, and fast data acquisition. The here presented 3D USCT prototype realizes for the first time the full potential of such a device.

Sound-speed image reconstruction in sparse-aperture 3-D ultrasound transmission tomography.

The paper is focused on sound-speed image reconstruction in 3-D ultrasound transmission tomography. Along with ultrasound reflectivity and the attenuation coefficient, sound speed is an important parameter which is related to the type and pathological state of the imaged tissue. This is important in the intended application, breast cancer diagnosis.

2D/3D image fusion of X-ray mammograms with breast MRI: visualizing dynamic contrast enhancement in mammograms.

Purpose: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. The established screening method to detect breast cancer is X-ray mammography. Additionally, MRI is used for diagnosis in clinical routine.

Fusion of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance mammography at 3.0T with X-ray mammograms: pilot study evaluation using dedicated semi-automatic registration software.

Rationale And Objectives: To evaluate the semi-automatic image registration accuracy of X-ray-mammography (XR-M) with high-resolution high-field (3.0T) MR-mammography (MR-M) in an initial pilot study.

Material And Methods: MR-M was acquired on a high-field clinical scanner at 3.

Modified time-of-flight based calibration approach for ultrasonic computed tomography.

In the previous paper [11], a method for geometrical and transducer-time-delay auto-calibration of an ultrasonic computed tomography (USCT) system has been described, aiming at calibration of individual ultrasonic (US) transducer positions. The present contribution describes a novel modification of the method utilizing the particular USCT system concept: the exactly known spatial relations among transducers grouped in each of the transducer array systems (TASes). The algorithms used for the calibration remain based on the principles similar to the global positioning system (GPS) navigation, however, the positions and orientations of complete TASes are calibrated, rather than individual positions of transducers.

Calibrating an ultrasonic computed tomography system using a time-of-flight based positioning algorithm.

This paper presents a method for geometrical and time-delay auto-calibration of an ultrasonic computed tomography (USCT) system. The algorithms used for the calibration are based on the principles similar to the global positioning system (GPS) navigation. Ultrasonic transmitters and receivers in USCT can be viewed like satellite transmitters and mobile receiver units in GPS.