3D Ultrasound
Computer Tomography for Breast Cancer Diagnosis:
Current Status
Nicole V. Ruiter
Karlsruhe Institute for Technology,
Early breast cancer diagnosis is still a major challenge. The standard
screening methods often detect cancer in a state when metastases have already
developed. The presence of metastases decreases the probability of survival
significantly. A more sensitive tool for breast cancer diagnosis will lead to
diagnoses in an earlier state, i.e. before metastases are generated.
We are developing a new imaging method for breast cancer diagnosis,
ultrasound computer tomography (USCT), which allows recording of reproducible
3D images with high spatial resolution and tissue contrast. Additionally,
quantitative measurements of physical parameters, such as sound speed and
attenuation, which could be used to identify cancerous tissues, are possible.
Our first experimental 3D USCT showed that full 3D data acquisition is
feasible with today's technology; if a sparse aperture may be accepted. The
next question is the clinical relevance of such a device. To answer this
question, we are currently building a second generation 3D USCT setup with the
main aim to image volunteers.
In this talk the setups and the results of the 3D systems are presented.
The challenges of building such a system and possible solutions are proposed.
The currently applied reconstruction algorithms will be presented together with
first 3D images and the optimized setup for the next system is discussed.