BREAST IMAGING

OptoSonics is combining photoacoustic computed tomography (PAT) with integrated backscatter ultrasound (IBUS) to create novel 3D images for the detection of breast cancer. Significantly, we achieve astonishing detail of breast vasculature without the need for ionizing radiation or injection of contrast agents, and the data for the 3D volumes can be collected with no patient discomfort in under a minute. The presentations below detail some early research results that are leading toward clinical trials.

This figure shows a 100 mm diameter detector bowl. Suspended above the bowl in a 5" diameter hemispherical cup is a human breast. An IBUS hydrophone is positioned at the bottom of the bowl. Optionally, other transponders can be located throughout the bowl, or laser radiation can be directed from the bottom aperture toward the breast.

3D breast imaging by PAT

Below is a maximum intensity projection (MIP) movie from a PAT 3D reconstructed volume for the right breast of a 57 year-old normal female breast. This volume data was collected in just 24 seconds without the use of contrast agents, and relying solely on the absorption of hemoglobin and subsequent detection of photoacoustic signatures.

Detection of microcalcifications using IBUS

The clinical application of IBUS is being studied, particularly for the visualization of microcalcifications in breast tissue. Some preliminary results are shown below for a PVCp phantom where crushed egg shell fragments, 200 μm in size, simulate microcalcifications in breast tissue. The results are compared to standard mammography.

Figure A is a digital "mammogram" (using a GE Senographe Essential^®), Figure B is a still photograph (from a digital camera), and Figure C is an IBUS volume. Microcalcifications are indicated by red ellipses, and yellow arrows denote the presence of air bubbles in the phantom.