title: Conformal ultrasound imaging system for anatomical breast inspection.
abstract: Ultrasound tomography has considerable potential as a means of breast cancer detection because it reduces the operator-dependency observed in echography. A half-ring transducer array was designed based on breast anatomy, to obtain reflectivity images of the ductolobular structures using tomographic reconstruction procedures. The 3-MHz transducer array comprises 1024 elements set in a 190-degree circular arc with a radius of 100 mm. The front-end electronics incorporate 32 independent parallel transmit/receive channels and a 32-to-1024 multiplexer unit. The transmit and receive circuitries have a variable sampling frequency of up to 80 MHz and 12-bit precision. Arbitrary waveforms are synthesized to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and to increase the spatial resolution when working with low-contrast objects. The setup was calibrated with academic objects and a needle hydrophone to develop the data correction tools and specify the properties of the system. The backscattering field was recorded using a restricted aperture, and tomographic acquisitions were performed with a pair of 0.08-mm-diameter steel wires, a low-contrast 2-D breast phantom, and a breast-shaped phantom containing inclusions. Data were processed with dedicated correction tools and a pulse compression technique. Objects were reconstructed using the elliptical back-projection algorithm.
authors: National Center for Scientific Research, Marseille, France. rouyer@lma.cnrs-mrs.fr
authors: Julien
authors: J
authors: Rouyer
authors: Serge
authors: S
authors: Mensah
authors: Emilie
authors: E
authors: Franceschini
authors: Philippe
authors: P
authors: Lasaygues
authors: Jean-Pierre
authors: JP
authors: Lefebvre
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D014054:Tomography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014159:Transducers; D016217:Ultrasonography, Mammary / Q000295:instrumentation*