This award supports a three year collaborative research project between Professor Aaron Brill of Vanderbilt University and Professor Shigenobu Nagataki of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) in Hiroshima, Japan. The researchers will undertake a study of the development and testing of quantitative ultrasound for thyroid nodule classification. Thyroid cancer is uncommon in childhood but has increased in high dose radioiodine-exposed children from the Chernobyl accident. Thousands of these children are being screened using clinical, laboratory, and ultrasound studies. Ongoing studies involve Japanese, American and Belarussian researchers. The goal of the project is to develop better methods for diagnosing radiation-induced thyroid cancer, a problem faced in the A-bomb survivor studies, in fallout affected areas in the U.S., and especially in Chernobyl-exposed children. This proposal will test how accurately computer-aided ultrasound can identify malignant thyroid lesions using RF signals for tissue characterization, harmonic imaging for improved image contrast and lesion detection, improved spatial resolution for lesion boundary characterization and 3D image segmentation and registration to characterize interval changes. These features will be integrated with other clinical and pathology finding to quantitate the relative utility of these quantitative predictors.
This project brings together the efforts of two laboratories that have complementary expertise and research capabilities. The U.S. collaborators have expertise in position tracking and registration in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and they also have expertise in ultrasound tissue classification. The Japanese collaborators have expertise in the area of clinical thyroidology. Results of this research have potential value as a screening test for recognition of malignant versus benign nodules. This research advances international human resources through the participation of a younger scientist. Through the exchange of ideas and technology, this project will broaden our base of basic knowledge and promote international understanding and cooperation. ***
