Real-Time Thermoacoustic Imaging-Guidance for Breast Tumor Resection

Abstract

In situ image guidance is one of the key techniques for accurate diagnosis and treatment in clinical medicine. Conventional imaging techniques such as CT, MRI provide critical information for diagnosis and treatment planning, but are less practical due to either technical complexity or ionizing radiation-related safety. Microwave-pumped thermoacoustic imaging (MTAI) is a promising alternative to real-time bioimaging due to its deep imaging depth, high resolution and minimal biological hazards. More importantly, by mapping the distribution of microwave absorbers, this method can also provide a new perspective for noninvasively observing the anatomy and functional structure of the target. In this work, we introduce a concept of in situ MTAI guidance by combining MTAI and an accurate spatial definition of invasive apparatus used in potential procedures. By mounting tiny MTAI beacons on the apparatus, it is possible to accurately reconstruct the relative position of the device to the target tissue for either real time visual guidance or as the foundation for potential automated procedures. The image quality including its applicable depth and resolution, the accuracy of the device localization is analyzed and tested with simulated breast tumor to demonstrate the capacity of the proposed technique. With refined adaptation for potential applications, this technique may provide a novel approach for a broad range of medical and biological applications.

Mechanism of acoustic pressure spectrum shifting toward lower frequencies in applied current thermoacoustic imaging

“…Thermoacoustic tomography (TAT) is an emerging imaging technology that combines the advantages of the high contrast in tissue electromagnetic parameters and the high resolution of ultrasound (Lin 2021). It has gained recognition as a promising method for early cancer diagnosis (Ji et al 2012, Fu et al 2014, Alikhani et al 2021 and as an imaging-guidance tool for tumor therapy (Qin et al 2020). Additionally, TAT finds applications in diverse areas such as detecting rheumatoid arthritis (Chi et al 2019(Chi et al , 2022, conducting animal studies (Kye et al 2022), and facilitating brain imaging (Jiang 2020).…”

First assessment of thermoacoustic tomography for in vivo detection of rheumatoid arthritis in the finger joints

“…Microwave‐induced thermoacoustic tomography (TAT) utilizes pulsed microwaves to generate ultrasonic signals 12–19 . As a hybrid modality, TAT combines the advantages of high electromagnetic contrast and high ultrasonic resolution.…”

“…Microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography (TAT) utilizes pulsed microwaves to generate ultrasonic signals. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] As a hybrid modality, TAT combines the advantages of high electromagnetic contrast and high ultrasonic resolution. In recent years, TAT has been developed in many aspects, such as thermoacoustic mesoscopy, compressive sensing TAT, thermoacoustic endoscopy, multimodality imaging, thermoacoustic molecular imaging, and low-cost portable TAT systems.…”

Thermoacoustic assessment of hematocrit changes in human forearms*

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] When tissues are irradiated by microwave pulses, tissues with a higher dielectric loss absorb more energy and thus create stronger thermoacoustic (TA) waves than other tissues; this provides a high microwave contrast, and the TA waves are then ultrasonically detected in high resolution. [8] TAI has been thus far applied for various biomedical applications including detection of breast, [9][10][11] kidney, [12] prostate [13] cancers, imaging of joint, [3,14] brain [4,15,16] , thyroid, [17] blood vessels, [18,19] and functional imaging. [19] We have previously shown that blood vessels can be anatomically imaged by TAI.…”