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WE‐EF‐210‐07: Development of a Minimally Invasive Photo Acoustic Imaging System for Early Prostate Cancer Detection
Author(s) -
Sano M,
Yousefi S,
Xing L
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.4926030
Subject(s) - ultrasound , imaging phantom , transducer , prostate , 3d ultrasound , biomedical engineering , medicine , medical imaging , image resolution , ultrasonic sensor , radiology , medical physics , nuclear medicine , acoustics , optics , cancer , physics
Purpose: The objective of this work is to design, implement and characterize a catheter‐based ultrasound/photoacoustic imaging probe for early‐diagnosis of prostate cancer and to aid in image‐guided radiation therapy. Methods: The need to image across 6–10cm of tissue to image the whole prostate gland limits the resolution achievable with a transrectal ultrasound approach. In contrast, the urethra bisects the prostate gland, providing a minimally invasive pathway for deploying a high resolution ultrasound transducer. Utilizing a high‐frequency (20MHz) ultrasound/photoacoustic probe, high‐resolution structural and molecular imaging of the prostate tissue is possible. A custom 3D printed probe containing a high‐frequency single‐element ultrasound transducer is utilized. The diameter of the probe is designed to fit inside a Foley catheter and the probe is rotated around the central axis to achieve a circular B‐scan. A custom ultrasound amplifier and receiver was set up to trigger the ultrasound pulse transmission and record the reflected signal. The reconstructed images were compared to images generated by traditional 5 MHz ultrasound transducers. Results: The preliminary results using the high‐frequency ultrasound probe show that it is possible to resolve finely detailed information in a prostate tissue phantom that was not achievable with previous low‐frequency ultrasound systems. Preliminary ultrasound imaging was performed on tissue mimicking phantom and sensitivity and signal‐to‐noise ratio of the catheter was measured. Conclusion: In order to achieve non‐invasive, high‐resolution, structural and molecular imaging for early‐diagnosis and image‐guided radiation therapy of the prostate tissue, a transurethral catheter was designed. Structural/molecular imaging using ultrasound/photoacoustic of the prostate tissue will allow for localization of hyper vascularized areas for early‐stage prostate cancer diagnosis.