Accuracy evaluation of radiographers screen reading mammograms

This thesis evaluated the accuracy of radiographers screen-reading mammograms. This was undertaken as a potential solution to current radiologist workforce shortages that may contribute to delays in women receiving their screening mammogram results. This large, well-designed Australian study undertook extensive analysis and imparts evidence that even prior to any formal reading training, radiographers have good accuracy levels when screen-reading mammograms. It is expected that with formal screen-reading training these accuracy levels will further improve, such that radiographers have the potential to be one of the two screen-readers within the BreastScreen Australia program, contributing to timeliness and improved accuracy outcomes

Optical Detection of Preneoplastic Lesions of the Central Airways

Current routine diagnosis of premalignant lesions of the central airways is hampered due to a limited sensitivity (white light bronchoscopy) and resolution (computer tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET)) of currently used techniques. To improve the detection of these subtle mucosal abnormalities, novel optical imaging bronchoscopic techniques have been developed over the past decade. In this review we highlight the technological developments in the field of endoscopic imaging, and describe their advantages and disadvantages in clinical use

Mammography

In this volume, the topics are constructed from a variety of contents: the bases of mammography systems, optimization of screening mammography with reference to evidence-based research, new technologies of image acquisition and its surrounding systems, and case reports with reference to up-to-date multimodality images of breast cancer. Mammography has been lagged in the transition to digital imaging systems because of the necessity of high resolution for diagnosis. However, in the past ten years, technical improvement has resolved the difficulties and boosted new diagnostic systems. We hope that the reader will learn the essentials of mammography and will be forward-looking for the new technologies. We want to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation?to all the co-authors who have contributed their work to this volume

Ultrasound-encoded optical tomography and time-reversed ultrasonically encoded optical focusing

Ultrasound modulated optical tomography is a developing hybrid imaging modality that combines high optical contrast and good ultrasonic resolution to image soft biological tissue. We developed a photorefractive crystal-based, time-resolved detection scheme with the use of a millisecond long ultrasound burst to image both the optical and mechanical properties of biological tissues, with improved detection efficiency of ultrasound-tagged photons. We also applied spectral-hole burning: SHB) aided detection in ultrasound-modulated optical tomography: UOT) to image optical heterogeneities in thick tissue-mimicking phantom samples and chicken breast tissue. The efficiency of SHB was improved by using a Tm3+: YAG crystal of higher doping concentration: 2.0-atomic%) and a double-pass pumping configuration. With the improved SHB-UOT system, we imaged absorbing, scattering, and phase contrast objects that were embedded in the middle plane of a 30-mm thick phantom sample. The imaging resolution was 0.5 mm in the lateral direction, as defined by the focal width of the ultrasonic transducer, and 1.5 mm in the axial direction, as determined by the ultrasonic burst length. We also imaged two absorbing objects embedded in the middle plane of a 32-mm thick chicken breast sample. The results suggest that the improved SHB-UOT system is one step closer to a practical optical imaging application in biological and clinical studies. Light focusing plays a central role in biomedical imaging, manipulation, and therapy. In optical scattering media such as biological tissue, light propagation is randomized by multiple scattering. Beyond one transport mean free path, where photon propagation is in the diffusive regime, direct light focusing becomes infeasible. Although various methods have been developed to overcome this optical diffusion limit, all are limited by the lack of a practical internal guide star. Here we proposed and experimentally validated a novel concept, called Time-Reversed Ultrasonically Encoded: TRUE) optical focusing, to deliver light dynamically into any predefined location inside a scattering medium. First, diffused coherent light is encoded by an ultrasonic wave focused to a predefined location; then, the encoded component of the diffused light is time-reversed and consequently converges back to the ultrasonic focus. The ultrasonic encoding noninvasively provides a virtual internal guide star for the time reversal. The TRUE optical focus--dynamically defined by the ultrasonic focus--is unaffected by multiple scattering of light, which is especially desirable in biological tissue where ultrasonic scattering is ~1000 times weaker than optical scattering. Various fields, such as biomedical, colloidal, atmospheric, and ocean optics, can benefit from TRUE optical focusing. Further, the concept can be generalized for non-optical waves