Breast tissue deformation modeling has recently gained considerable interest in various medical applications. A biomechanical model of the breast is presented using a finite element (FE) formulation. Emphasis is given to the modeling of breast tissue deformation which takes place in breast imaging procedures. The first step in implementing the FE modeling (FEM) procedure is mesh generation. For objects with irregular and complex geometries such as the breast, this step is one of the most difficult and tedious tasks. For FE mesh generation, two automated methods are presented which process MRI breast images to create a patient-specific mesh. The main components of the breast are adipose, fibroglandular and skin tissues. For modeling the adipose and fibroglandular tissues, we used eight noded hexahedral elements with hyperelastic properties, while for the skin, we chose four noded hyperelastic membrane elements. For model validation, an MR image of an agarose phantom was acquired and corresponding FE meshes were created. Based on assigned elasticity parameters, a numerical experiment was performed using the FE meshes, and good results were obtained. The model was also applied to a breast image registration problem of a volunteer's breast. Although qualitatively reasonable, further work is required to validate the results quantitatively.

Background: It is recommended that BRCA1/2 mutation carriers undergo breast cancer screening using MRI because of their very high cancer risk and the high sensitivity of MRI in detecting invasive cancers. Clinical observations suggest important differences in the natural history between breast cancers due to mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2, potentially requiring different screening guidelines.Methods: Three studies of mutation carriers using annual MRI and mammography were analyzed. Separate natural history models for BRCA1 and BRCA2 were calibrated to the results of these studies and used to predict the impact of various screening protocols on detection characteristics and mortality.Results: BRCA1/2 mutation carriers (N ¼ 1,275) participated in the studies and 124 cancers (99 invasive) were diagnosed. Cancers detected in BRCA2 mutation carriers were smaller [80% ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or 10 mm vs. 49% for BRCA1, P < 0.001]. Below the age of 40, one (invasive) cancer of the 25 screen-detected cancers in BRCA1 mutation carriers was detected by mammography alone, compared with seven (three invasive) of 11 screen-detected cancers in BRCA2 (P < 0.0001). In the model, the preclinical period during which cancer is screen-detectable was 1 to 4 years for BRCA1 and 2 to 7 years for BRCA2. The model predicted breast cancer mortality reductions of 42% to 47% for mammography, 48% to 61% for MRI, and 50% to 62% for combined screening.Conclusions: Our studies suggest substantial mortality benefits in using MRI to screen BRCA1/2 mutation carriers aged 25 to 60 years but show important clinical differences in natural history.Impact: BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers may benefit from different screening protocols, for example, below the age of 40. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 21(9); 1458-68. Ó2012 AACR.

A new class of devices are described for improving investigation of somatosensory neuronal activation using fMRI. Dubbed magnetomechanical vibrotactile devices (MVDs), the principle of operation involves driving wire coils with small oscillatory currents in the large static magnetic field inherent to MRI scanners. The resulting Lorentz forces can be oriented to generate large vibrations that are easily converted to translational motions as large as several centimeters. Representative data demonstrate the flexibility of MVDs to generate different well-controlled vibratory and tactile stimuli to activate special proprioceptive and cutaneous somatosensory afferent pathways. Functional MRI (fMRI) is an excellent experimental tool for probing the neural pathways associated with skin sensation-the somatosensory system. In particular, numerous studies have been performed that demonstrate the somatotopic organization of the primary somatosensory cortex (1-7). Somatotopic mapping at higher spatial resolution is facilitated by using scanners with larger magnetic fields, such as 4T, with which the different locations of finger digits within primary somatosensory cortex can be identified (8). Such work may ultimately have practical medical application in surgical planning to resect tumors or epileptic foci while minimizing somatosensory loss and paralysis (9,10).Beyond somatotopic mapping, however, additional fMRI investigation is required to improve scientific understanding of the human somatosensory system. A central, broad issue is to understand quantitatively the factors which modulate somatosensory activation. This includes investigating the relationship between parameters associated with stimulus delivery (e.g., rubbing force and frequency, or vibration frequency and amplitude), the specific peripheral receptors excited, and the activation signals observed using fMRI. In addition to these direct relationships, other functionally connected brain regions such as those involved in attention (11-15), as well as short-term and long-term neuroplasticity associated with learning (16) or recovery from injury to the nervous system (17), can act as strong modulatory factors affecting somatosensory activation.Investigating these factors clearly requires the capability to deliver well-controlled, reproducible somatosensory stimuli. Compared with sensory fMRI experiments involving vision and audition, however, careful somatosensory stimulus delivery is more challenging. Much of the somatosensory fMRI literature involves manual rubbing or brushing, or electrical stimulation of the appropriate sensory nerves. Manual brushing depends completely on the ability of an experimenter to apply tactile stimuli consistently, which is extremely difficult, whereas electrical stimuli are not a natural input to the central nervous system and appear to produce mixed results (6,18). This has prompted design of other somatosensory devices for specific experimental purposes, such as piezoelectric vibration (19) or compressed air (4,20,21), each with ...

Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging studies of the breast are frequently degraded by patient motion. In order to correct for this, any registration algorithm must overcome two major challenges: the highly deformable nature of the breast itself and the need to remove changes in signal intensity due to patient motion whilst leaving potentially significant changes in signal intensity due to changes in contrast agent concentration unchanged. In this paper, we evaluate the use of a non-rigid registration method that uses optical flow equations to drive the displacement of a grid of control points. With conventional optical flow techniques it is assumed that changes in image intensity are solely due to motion, making it unsuitable for use with contrast-enhanced studies. The registration algorithm evaluated in this paper overcomes this problem by including an additional term to account for changes in image intensity. Studies simulating physiologically plausible deformations of the breast together with realistic changes in contrast-enhancement derived from patient studies demonstrate that the algorithm is capable of registering images to sub-voxel accuracy within minutes. This technique has now been successfully incorporated into a breast cancer screening protocol allowing registered images to be provided routinely to the radiologist immediately after the scanning session.

We constructed a device to compress small samples of articular cartilage while the samples were imaged in a 1.5 T imager. With the use of a piezoelectric piston, the device compressed 1-cm-diameter cylindrical samples of articular cartilage (200 m) at a rate of 2 Hz. Simultaneously, we imaged the samples with a displacement-sensitive stimulated-echo acquisition mode (STEAM) sequence. We validated the technique using tissue that mimicked silicone samples. We compared the results from the same cartilage samples before and after they were degraded by digestion in trypsin. The extent of degradation was visualized from T 1 -weighted images of the samples after they were soaked in 0.5 mmolar of GdDTPA. The resulting elastographic images show compression and differential strain in directions both parallel and perpendicular to the surface of the cartilage. The static elastographic images that depict compression made before digestion and after 5 and 15 hr of trypsin digestion show that the elastic modulus of the samples decreased with a spatial variation consistent with the enzymatic digestion as revealed by the T 1 images. We believe this technique will be useful in studies of the mechanical properties of articular cartilage and other tissues, and may in the future be extended to the clinical setting. Magn Reson Med 53: 1065-1073, 2005.

The results of this study motivate further investigation of eMRE in prostate cancer patients to help determine if there is an added value of integrating eMRE into existing multi-parametric prostate MRI exams.

The pulsed-injection method for measuring the velocity of blood flow in intraarterial digital subtraction angiography is described. With this technique, contrast material is injected at a pulsing frequency as high as 15 Hz, so that two or more boluses can be imaged simultaneously. The velocity of flow is determined by measuring the spacing between the boluses and multiplying it by the pulsing frequency. Results of tests with phantoms correlate well with flow measurements obtained with a graduated cylinder for velocities ranging from 8 to 60 cm/sec. The potential of the method for time-dependent velocity measurement has been demonstrated with simulated pulsatile flows.

There is renewed interest in diagnostic radiology in electrostatic methods of imaging, such as xeroradiography and ionography. This is due to the fact that edge contrast can be achieved, aiding in the visualization of soft tissue tumors. In analyzing the image forming properties of these system, we chose to solve the electrostatic problems by the method of images. We present methods and recursion formulas for calculating electrostatic fields due to (a) any charge distribution on a slab of dielectric (the solution involves a single infinite series) or (b) the same as the above with the introduction of an additional ground plane parallel to the dielectric surface (the solution now involves double infinite series). Analysis of these fields suggests new methods of controlling edge contrast and development configurations where the field which penetrates through the foil is used to produce the final image rather than the field above the charged surface.