Challenges in the Design of Microwave Imaging Systems for Breast Cancer Detection

Among the various breast imaging modalities for breast cancer detection, microwave imaging is attractive due to the high contrast in dielectric properties between the cancerous and normal tissue. Due to this reason, this modality has received a significant interest and attention from the microwave community. This paper presents the survey of the ongoing research in the field of microwave imaging of biological tissues, with major focus on the breast tumor detection application. The existing microwave imaging systems are categorized on the basis of the employed measurement concepts. The advantages and disadvantages of the implemented imaging techniques are discussed. The fundamental tradeoffs between the various system requirements are indicated. Some strategies to overcome these limitations are outlined

Multiscale Functional and Molecular Photoacoustic Tomography

Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) combines rich optical absorption contrast with the high spatial resolution of ultrasound at depths in tissue. The high scalability of PAT has enabled anatomical imaging of biological structures ranging from organelles to organs. The inherent functional and molecular imaging capabilities of PAT have further allowed it to measure important physiological parameters and track critical cellular activities. Integration of PAT with other imaging technologies provides complementary capabilities and can potentially accelerate the clinical translation of PAT

Background-deflection Brillouin microscopy reveals altered biomechanics of intracellular stress granules by ALS protein FUS

Altered cellular biomechanics have been implicated as key photogenic triggers in age-related diseases. An aberrant liquid-to-solid phase transition, observed in in vitro reconstituted droplets of FUS protein, has been recently proposed as a possible pathogenic mechanism for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Whether such transition occurs in cell environments is currently unknown as a consequence of the limited measuring capability of the existing techniques, which are invasive or lack of subcellular resolution. Here we developed a non-contact and label-free imaging method, named background-deflection Brillouin microscopy, to investigate the three-dimensional intracellular biomechanics at a sub-micron resolution. Our method exploits diffraction to achieve an unprecedented 10,000-fold enhancement in the spectral contrast of single-stage spectrometers, enabling, to the best of our knowledge, the first direct biomechanical analysis on intracellular stress granules containing ALS mutant FUS protein in fixed cells. Our findings provide fundamental insights on the critical aggregation step underlying the neurodegenerative ALS disease

Multi-scale volumetric dynamic optoacoustic and laser ultrasound (OPLUS) imaging enabled by semi-transparent optical guidance

Major biological discoveries have been made by interrogating living organisms with light. However, the limited penetration of unscattered photons within biological tissues severely limits the depth range covered by optical methods. Deep-tissue imaging has been achieved by combining light and ultrasound. Optoacoustic imaging uniquely exploits optical generation of ultrasound to render high-resolution images at depths unattainable with optical microscopy. Recently, laser ultrasound has further been suggested as a means of generating broadband acoustic waves for high-resolution pulse-echo ultrasound imaging. Herein, we propose an approach to simultaneously interrogate biological tissues with light and ultrasound based on layer-by-layer coating of silica optical fibers with a controlled degree of transparency. We exploit the time separation between optoacoustic signals and ultrasound echoes collected with a custom-made spherical array transducer for simultaneous three-dimensional optoacoustic and laser ultrasound (OPLUS) imaging with a single laser pulse. OPLUS is shown to enable large-scale comprehensive anatomical characterization of tissues along with functional multi-spectral imaging of spectrally-distinctive chromophores and assessment of cardiac dynamics at ultrafast rates only limited by the pulse repetition frequency of the laser. The suggested approach provides a flexible and scalable means for developing a new generation of systems synergistically combining the powerful capabilities of optoacoustics and ultrasound imaging in biology and medicine.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figure

Ultrason Imaging

Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) combines rich optical absorption contrast with the high spatial resolution of ultrasound at depths in tissue. The high scalability of PAT has enabled anatomical imaging of biological structures ranging from organelles to organs. The inherent functional and molecular imaging capabilities of PAT have further allowed it to measure important physiological parameters and track critical cellular activities. Integration of PAT with other imaging technologies provides complementary capabilities and can potentially accelerate the clinical translation of PAT.DP1 EB016986/EB/NIBIB NIH HHS/United StatesR01 CA186567/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United StatesU01 NS090579/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United StatesDP1 EB016986/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United States2016-01-01T00:00:00Z25933617PMC462890

Toolbox for in vivo imaging of host-parasite interactions at multiple scales

Animal models have for long been pivotal for parasitology research. Over the last few years, techniques such as intravital, optoacoustic and magnetic resonance imaging, optical projection tomography, and selective plane illumination microscopy developed promising potential for gaining insights into host-pathogen interactions by allowing different visualization forms in vivo and ex vivo. Advances including increased resolution, penetration depth, and acquisition speed, together with more complex image analysis methods, facilitate tackling biological problems previously impossible to study and/or quantify. Here we discuss advances and challenges in the in vivo imaging toolbox, which hold promising potential for the field of parasitology