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Clinical Results with Ultrasound Computed Tomography of the Breast

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Quantitative Ultrasound in Soft Tissues

Abstract

Although the science and engineering of ultrasound computed tomography (USCT) has been explored for over four decades, there have been relatively few instances of a system being developed and applied to patients. Nonetheless, there have been notable results from the clinical setting, especially recently, that illustrate how a successful USCT scanner may provide significant advances to women’s health. For practical anatomical reasons, this work has almost exclusively addressed imaging of the female breast. Other quantitative ultrasound techniques have been applied to characterizing the female breast, including quantitative backscatter analysis, shear wave speed, computer-aided diagnosis, etc., but USCT is the focus of this chapter. We highlight the evolution of scanner design and image reconstruction by presenting key results from patient measurements by the major researchers in the field. There has been steady progress in electronics, parallel processors, reconstruction algorithms, understanding of the physical properties of breast tissue and a resurgence of interest in the medical community for dedicated breast ultrasound systems. It is understood today that USCT may be able to contribute in many aspects of the medical management of breast disease including detection, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the support and contributions of Melissa Ledgerwood, B.S., Melanie Aiken, B.A., Laura Brogoch, B.S., Karleen Callahan, Ph.D. and the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute SBIR Program and Academic-Industry Partnership Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radiology, Physics & Engineering Division 114, VA Healthcare/University of California, San Diego, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA, 92161, USA

    Michael André

  2. CVUS, LLC, 3216 Highland Dr.Suite 100, Salt Lake City, UT, 84106, USA

    James Wiskin & David Borup

Authors
  1. Michael André
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  2. James Wiskin
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  3. David Borup
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael André .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Biomedical Engineering, Riverside Research Institute F.L. Lizzi Center, New York, New York, USA

    Jonathan Mamou

  2. Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA

    Michael L. Oelze

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André, M., Wiskin, J., Borup, D. (2013). Clinical Results with Ultrasound Computed Tomography of the Breast. In: Mamou, J., Oelze, M. (eds) Quantitative Ultrasound in Soft Tissues. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6952-6_15

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