Performance of Vibro-Acoustography in Detecting Microcalcifications in Excised Human Breast Tissue: A Study of 74 Tissue Samples

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83 Scopus citations

Abstract

X-ray mammography is the principal modality used today for detection of breast microcalcifications and breast lesions associated with breast cancer. X-ray mammography, however, is ionizing and its sensitivity is greatly reduced in dense breasts. Hence, alternative noninvasive and nonionizing breast imaging tools that can aid physicians to better diagnose early-stage breast lesions are of great interest. Vibro-acoustography is a novel noninvasive imaging technique that uses ultrasound in a fundamentally new way. This method uses the radiation force of ultrasound to vibrate the tissue at low (kilohertz) frequency and records the resulting response to produce images that are related to the mechanical properties of the tissue. The goal of this study is to evaluate the performance of vibro-acoustography in detecting breast microcalcifications by conducting vibro-acoustography on 74 fixed breast tissue samples with known microcalcifications based on their radiographs. The results indicate that in most cases micro-calcifications can be detected by vibro-acoustography. Further development of vibro-acoustography may lead to a novel-imaging tool for in vivo detection of microcalcifications.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)307-312
Number of pages6
JournalIEEE transactions on medical imaging
Volume23
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2004

Keywords

  • Breast
  • Mammography
  • Microcalcification
  • Ultrasound
  • Vibro-acoustography

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Radiological and Ultrasound Technology
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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