During the previous funding period, reported having developed a new medical imaging paradigm called thermoacoustic CT (TCT). In its current implementation, TCT utilizes brief pulses of radio waves at 434 MHz to stimulate acoustic emissions in soft tissue. These sonic emissions are detected by an array of piezo-electric crystals and are recorded temporally following each of 250,000 individual RF pulses. From the recorded sonic emissions, patterns of radio-wave absorption within the soft tissue volume are reconstructed in three dimensions. The applicants reported having demonstrated good soft tissue differentiation in an excised porcine kidney, and we have successfully imaged breast cancer in vivo. The goal of the proposed research program is to better understand the underlying RF-absorption properties of soft tissue, and to improve the current TCT instrumentation for imaging the human breast. To these ends, the following specific aims will be pursued during the proposed three-year funding period: 1. Relate the properties of specific heart, volume thermal expansion and complex permittivity to TCT image contrast: 2. Relate bound water fraction to TCT image contrast; 3. Correlate the physiologic properties of different breast tumor cell lines with TCT image contrast; 4. Develop simulation tools to predict and validate TCT imaging performance in the breast; 5. Design, construct and test an improved TCT breast scanner; and 6. Perform retrospective TCT imaging on small groups of patients

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
7R01CA065744-05
Application #
6376112
Study Section
Diagnostic Imaging Study Section (DMG)
Project Start
1996-05-03
Project End
2003-04-30
Budget Start
2001-05-01
Budget End
2002-04-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2001
Total Cost
$698,692
Indirect Cost
Name
Optosonics, Inc.
Department
Type
DUNS #
929665875
City
Oriental
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
28571
Kruger, Robert A; Kiser, William L; Reinecke, Daniel R et al. (2003) Thermoacoustic molecular imaging of small animals. Mol Imaging 2:113-23
Kruger, R A; Kopecky, K K; Aisen, A M et al. (1999) Thermoacoustic CT with radio waves: a medical imaging paradigm. Radiology 211:275-8
Kruger, R A; Reinecke, D R; Kruger, G A (1999) Thermoacoustic computed tomography--technical considerations. Med Phys 26:1832-7
Liu, P (1998) The P-transform and photoacoustic image reconstruction. Phys Med Biol 43:667-74