title: Ultrasound-stimulated vibro-acoustography for high-resolution differentiation based on viscoelastic properties of tissue mimicking phantoms.
abstract: In the absence of an imaging technique that provides imagery of diseased tissue with high diagnostic accuracy and contrast, surgeons must often excise excess healthy tissue surrounding neoplasms to ensure complete removal of malignant tissues. Additional approaches that are commonly used in the detection of tumor regions include palpation and conventional ultrasound to locate the affected area. However, these techniques suffer from limitations such as minimal specificity and lack of depth penetration. Lack of specificity results in the production of unclear diseased tissue regions, and therefore fails to offer surgeons a reliable and accurate image guidance tool. The proposed work provides an alternative diagnostic modality termed ultrasound-stimulated vibro-acoustography (USVA) that aims to generate detailed images characterized by viscoelastic properties of tissues. We demonstrate selective imaging using phantom tissue samples of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) that are altered and arranged into unique geometries of varying elastic topology. Determining the precision and sensitivity of the USVA imaging system in identifying boundary regions as well as intensity ranges associated with tissue phantom targets will provide additional important information to allow for a non-invasive tool to distinguish diseased tissues from normal tissues in an in vivo setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Ashkan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maccabi
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arshi
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garritano
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saddik
authors.forename: Elnaz
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kohanbash
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Bobby A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Tajudeen
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Maie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: St John
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Warren S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Grundfest
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Zachary D
authors.initials: ZD
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D055119:Elastic Modulus / Q000502:physiology*; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014159:Transducers; D014783:Viscosity