9632960 Steinberg This project will test a new concept that may lead to early detection of tumors in breasts by echo ultrasound. Early detection by ultrasound or any other imaging modality requires high spatial resolution and high contrast resolution. Modern ultrasound systems can detect objects as small as 1 mm when used in the hands of skilled operators. Contrast resolution of ultrasound is excellent relative to x-ray mammography (the gold standard for breast cancer screening tests), and ultrasound is used in distinguishing dense breast tumors from clear, liquid-filled cysts, provided the cysts are large enough to be distinguished from noise (speckle) in the image. Therefore, contrast resolution becomes the ultimate limiting factor in high quality echo ultrasound. The elimination of speckle is the goal of the project. This project addresses contrast resolution and offers a way materially to improve it using a novel, automatic signal processor instrument with real-time potential. The instrument, which was developed during a radar study of 3-D high resolution imagery, has strong potential for discriminating between soft breast tissue and dense tissue typical of lesions (tumors). Success with the project would provide the ability of ultrasound systems to detect breast cancer at an earlier stage and therefore improve the probability of long term survival. This award is made under the guidelines applicable to Small Grants for Exploratory Research. ***
