A new portable ultrasound system could make breast imaging more accessible, particularly for people at high risk of developing breast cancer. Yearly mammograms may not be enough to detect tumors early, and this system could enable earlier detection and long-term monitoring.
The MIT team developed a system employing ultrasound technology to generate tissue images, which could be deployed more frequently than mammography. In their latest study, they report enhancing the image resolution of their device.
Canan Dagdeviren, an MIT associate professor of media arts and sciences and the study’s senior author, highlighted the system’s intuitive design. ‘At each interval, the computer interface directs you to position the device precisely in the same spot, key for tracking tissue changes over time,’ she explained.
Higher-Quality Imaging
Annual mammograms are common for breast cancer screening, yet some cancers emerge between these checks. These ‘interval cancers’ are often more aggressive and account for 20 to 30 percent of all breast cancer cases.
Dagdeviren aimed to create a screening method effective for dense breast tissue and usable more often than mammography. She chose ultrasound, which uses sound waves to produce tissue images.
The researchers reported several advances that allow for higher resolution imaging and greater ease of use. One key advance is the addition of a “backing layer” to the ultrasound transducer, which helps to contain and focus the ultrasound waves, improving the resolution and quality of the resulting images.
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Advances in Technology
The researchers also designed an algorithm that adaptively performs a process called beamforming, which allows the system to compensate for differences in the speed at which sound waves travel through different types of tissue. This algorithm enables the system to predict the speed of sound properties of the tissue being imaged and reconstruct the image more accurately.
Md Osman Goni Nayeem states the device delivers more precise and sharper images with a broader frequency range. Shrihari Viswanath notes the algorithm achieves up to a 10 percent resolution improvement.
The team tested the system with 10 volunteers, who attempted to locate tiny targets in a ’tissue phantom.’ Users demonstrated a significantly higher success rate identifying spheres with the new system compared to a traditional probe.
User-Friendly System
The researchers created a user interface that guides the user to place the probe in the correct location, which could be especially important for tracking progression of treatments or long-term monitoring of known abnormalities. In a trial with seven people, the researchers found that the users were able to accurately place the probe in the correct location each time they did a scan.
Hyeokjun Yoon says the computer-vision interface is very user-friendly and shows live images on the screen. For future versions of this technology, the researchers hope to create an interface that could be used with a cellphone or tablet, making the system easier to carry.
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