Simulation of ultrasonic imaging with linear arrays in causal absorptive media

Rigorous and efficient numerical methods are presented for simulation of acoustic propagation in a medium where the absorption is described by relaxation processes. It is shown how FFT-based algorithms can be used to simulate ultrasound images in pulse-echo mode. General expressions are obtained for the complex wavenumber in a relaxing medium. A fit to measurements in biological media shows the appropriateness of the model. The wavenumber is applied to three FFT-based extrapolation operators, which are implemented in a weak form to reduce spatial aliasing. The influence of the absorptive medium on the quality of images obtained with a linear array transducer is demonstrated. It is shown that, for moderately absorbing media, the absorption has a large influence on the images, whereas the dispersion has a negligible effect on the images.\ud \u

Virtual clinical trials in medical imaging: a review

The accelerating complexity and variety of medical imaging devices and methods have outpaced the ability to evaluate and optimize their design and clinical use. This is a significant and increasing challenge for both scientific investigations and clinical applications. Evaluations would ideally be done using clinical imaging trials. These experiments, however, are often not practical due to ethical limitations, expense, time requirements, or lack of ground truth. Virtual clinical trials (VCTs) (also known as in silico imaging trials or virtual imaging trials) offer an alternative means to efficiently evaluate medical imaging technologies virtually. They do so by simulating the patients, imaging systems, and interpreters. The field of VCTs has been constantly advanced over the past decades in multiple areas. We summarize the major developments and current status of the field of VCTs in medical imaging. We review the core components of a VCT: computational phantoms, simulators of different imaging modalities, and interpretation models. We also highlight some of the applications of VCTs across various imaging modalities

Evaluation of a pipeline for simulation, reconstruction, and classification in ultrasound-aided diffuse optical tomography of breast tumors

Significance: Diffuse optical tomography is an ill-posed problem. Combination with ultrasound can improve the results of diffuse optical tomography applied to the diagnosis of breast cancer and allow for classification of lesions. Aim: To provide a simulation pipeline for the assessment of reconstruction and classification methods for diffuse optical tomography with concurrent ultrasound information. Approach: A set of breast digital phantoms with benign and malignant lesions was simulated building on the software VICTRE. Acoustic and optical properties were assigned to the phantoms for the generation of B-mode images and optical data. A reconstruction algorithm based on a two-region nonlinear fitting and incorporating the ultrasound information was tested. Machine learning classification methods were applied to the reconstructed values to discriminate lesions into benign and malignant after reconstruction. Results: The approach allowed us to generate realistic US and optical data and to test a two-region reconstruction method for a large number of realistic simulations. When information is extracted from ultrasound images, at least 75% of lesions are correctly classified. With ideal two-region separation, the accuracy is higher than 80%. Conclusions: A pipeline for the generation of realistic ultrasound and diffuse optics data was implemented. Machine learning methods applied to a optical reconstruction with a nonlinear optical model and morphological information permit to discriminate malignant lesions from benign ones

Evaluation of a pipeline for simulation, reconstruction, and classification in ultrasound-aided diffuse optical tomography of breast tumors

SIGNIFICANCE: Diffuse optical tomography is an ill-posed problem. Combination with ultrasound can improve the results of diffuse optical tomography applied to the diagnosis of breast cancer and allow for classification of lesions. AIM: To provide a simulation pipeline for the assessment of reconstruction and classification methods for diffuse optical tomography with concurrent ultrasound information. APPROACH: A set of breast digital phantoms with benign and malignant lesions was simulated building on the software VICTRE. Acoustic and optical properties were assigned to the phantoms for the generation of B-mode images and optical data. A reconstruction algorithm based on a two-region nonlinear fitting and incorporating the ultrasound information was tested. Machine learning classification methods were applied to the reconstructed values to discriminate lesions into benign and malignant after reconstruction. RESULTS: The approach allowed us to generate realistic US and optical data and to test a two-region reconstruction method for a large number of realistic simulations. When information is extracted from ultrasound images, at least 75% of lesions are correctly classified. With ideal two-region separation, the accuracy is higher than 80%. CONCLUSIONS: A pipeline for the generation of realistic ultrasound and diffuse optics data was implemented. Machine learning methods applied to a optical reconstruction with a nonlinear optical model and morphological information permit to discriminate malignant lesions from benign ones

Métodos de reconstrucción en dominio temporal para tomografía por transmisión de ultrasonidos

Tesis inédita de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas, Departamento de Física Atómica, Molecular y Nuclear, leída el 06-06-2017Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death for women in Europe, and the second one after lung cancer in the US [World Cancer Report, 2008]. Early detection is very important for the survival rate of BC, because the smaller the local extension of the neoplasia, the better the output of the surgical treatments employed. Besides, early detection increases the possibility of preserving the breast and decreases the probability of needing more invasive treatments [Secretaría de Salud, 2007, Alteri et al., 2011]. Mammography is currently the standard procedure employed for breast screening programs around the world. Nevertheless, its efficiency has been questioned lately because: (i) it generates many abnormal findings not related to cancer, (ii) it requires irradiating the patient and (iii) it has low specificity with dense breasts [Santen and Mansel, 2005]. Consequently, complementary techniques to mammography are being proposed to improve the detection and characterization of BC. Among these techniques, is the Ultrasound Computed Tomography (USCT), in reflection mode (which provides qualitative maps with the concentration of scatterers in the tissue), and transmission mode (which provides quantitative maps of the sound speed (SS) and the acoustic attenuation (AA) of the tissues). The images provided by the transmission modality have been proposed for BC detection as they can improve the detectability of malignancies in the breast [Mast, 2000, Duric et al., 2009]...El cáncer de mama (CM) es el cáncer más mortal entre las mujeres europeas, y el segundo más común en Estados Unidos [World Cancer Report, 2008]. La detección temprana es un factor que condiciona en gran medida la tasa de supervivencia a esta enfermedad, ya que a menor tamaño de la neoplasia detectada, mejores resultados pueden esperarse para los tratamientos quirúrgicos que se realicen. Además, la detección temprana aumenta la posibilidad de conservar la mama después de la cirugía y disminuye la necesidad de emplear otros tratamientos más invasivos[Secretaría de Salud, 2007, Alteri et al., 2011]. La mamografía es actualmente el procedimiento estándar que se emplea para el cribado del CM. Sin embargo, en los últimas años su eficiencia está siendo muy cuestionada por varios factores: (i) alta tasa de falsos positivos, (ii) requiere la irradiación del paciente y (iii) baja especificidad en mamas densas 2. Debido a lo anterior, para mejorar la detección y caracterización del CM se han propuesto varias técnicas complementarias. Entre ellas está la tomografía ultrasónica (TU), que es una técnica en desarrollo que presenta dos modalidades principales: la reflexión (proporciona mapas cualitativos de la concentración de dispersores en el tejido) y la transmisión (proporciona mapas cuantitativos de la velocidad y atenuación del sonido en el tejido). Los mapas del modo transmisión han sido propuestos como una eficiente alternativa, libre de radiación, para la detección del CM, ya que proporcionan alto contraste y especificidad [Mast, 2000, Duric et al., 2009]...Depto. de Estructura de la Materia, Física Térmica y ElectrónicaFac. de Ciencias FísicasTRUEunpu

A modeling-based assessment of acousto-optic sensing for monitoring high-intensity focused ultrasound lesion formation

Real-time acousto-optic (AO) sensing - a dual-wave modality that combines ultrasound with diffuse light to probe the optical properties of turbid media - has been demonstrated to non-invasively detect changes in ex vivo tissue optical properties during high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) exposure. The AO signal indicates the onset of lesion formation and predicts resulting lesion volumes. Although proof-of-concept experiments have been successful, many of the underlying parameters and mechanisms affecting thermally induced optical property changes and the AO detectability of HIFU lesion formation are not well understood. In thesis, a numerical simulation was developed to model the AO sensing process and capture the relevant acoustic, thermal, and optical transport processes. The simulation required data that described how optical properties changed with heating. Experiments were carried out where excised chicken breast was exposed to thermal bath heating and changes in the optical absorption and scattering spectra (500 nm - 1100 nm) were measured using a scanning spectrophotometer and an integrating sphere assembly. Results showed that the standard thermal dose model currently used for guiding HIFU treatments needs to be adjusted to describe thermally induced optical property changes. To model the entire AO process, coupled models were used for ultrasound propagation, tissue heating, and diffusive light transport. The angular spectrum method was used to model the acoustic field from the HIFU source. Spatial-temporal temperature elevations induced by the absorption of ultrasound were modeled using a finite-difference time-domain solution to the Pennes bioheat equation. The thermal dose model was then used to determine optical properties based on the temperature history. The diffuse optical field in the tissue was then calculated using a GPU-accelerated Monte Carlo algorithm, which accounted for light-sound interactions and AO signal detection. The simulation was used to determine the optimal design for an AO guided HIFU system by evaluating the robustness of the systems signal to changes in tissue thickness, lesion optical contrast, and lesion location. It was determined that AO sensing is a clinically viable technique for guiding the ablation of large volumes and that real-time sensing may be feasible in the breast and prostate