TY - JOUR
T1 - Noninvasive Contrast-Free 3D Evaluation of Tumor Angiogenesis with Ultrasensitive Ultrasound Microvessel Imaging
AU - Huang, Chengwu
AU - Lowerison, Matthew R.
AU - Lucien, Fabrice
AU - Gong, Ping
AU - Wang, Diping
AU - Song, Pengfei
AU - Chen, Shigao
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, The Author(s).
PY - 2019/12/1
Y1 - 2019/12/1
N2 - Ultrasound microvessel imaging (UMI), when applied with ultrafast planewave acquisitions, has demonstrated superior blood signal sensitivity in comparison to conventional Doppler imaging. Here we propose a high spatial resolution and ultra-sensitive UMI that is based on conventional line-by-line high-frequency ultrasound imagers and singular value decomposition (SVD) clutter filtering for the visualization and quantification of tumor microvasculature and perfusion. The technique was applied to a chicken embryo tumor model of renal cell carcinoma that was treated with two FDA-approved anti-angiogenic agents at clinically relevant dosages. We demonstrate the feasibility of 3D evaluation with UMI to achieve highly sensitive detection of microvasculature using conventional line-by-line ultrasound imaging on a preclinical and commercially available high-frequency ultrasound device without software or hardware modifications. Quantitative parameters (vascularization index and fractional moving blood volume) derived from UMI images provide significantly improved evaluation of anti-angiogenic therapy response as compared with conventional power Doppler imaging, using histological analysis and immunohistochemistry as the reference standard. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that high-frequency UMI is a low-cost, contrast-agent-free, easily applicable, accessible, and quantitative imaging tool for tumor characterization, which may be very useful for preclinical evaluation and longitudinal monitoring of anti-cancer treatment.
AB - Ultrasound microvessel imaging (UMI), when applied with ultrafast planewave acquisitions, has demonstrated superior blood signal sensitivity in comparison to conventional Doppler imaging. Here we propose a high spatial resolution and ultra-sensitive UMI that is based on conventional line-by-line high-frequency ultrasound imagers and singular value decomposition (SVD) clutter filtering for the visualization and quantification of tumor microvasculature and perfusion. The technique was applied to a chicken embryo tumor model of renal cell carcinoma that was treated with two FDA-approved anti-angiogenic agents at clinically relevant dosages. We demonstrate the feasibility of 3D evaluation with UMI to achieve highly sensitive detection of microvasculature using conventional line-by-line ultrasound imaging on a preclinical and commercially available high-frequency ultrasound device without software or hardware modifications. Quantitative parameters (vascularization index and fractional moving blood volume) derived from UMI images provide significantly improved evaluation of anti-angiogenic therapy response as compared with conventional power Doppler imaging, using histological analysis and immunohistochemistry as the reference standard. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that high-frequency UMI is a low-cost, contrast-agent-free, easily applicable, accessible, and quantitative imaging tool for tumor characterization, which may be very useful for preclinical evaluation and longitudinal monitoring of anti-cancer treatment.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41598-019-41373-0
DO - 10.1038/s41598-019-41373-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 30894634
AN - SCOPUS:85063330383
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 9
JO - Scientific reports
JF - Scientific reports
IS - 1
M1 - 4907
ER -