title: Ultrashort Microwave-Pumped Real-Time Thermoacoustic Breast Tumor Imaging System.
abstract: We report the design of a real-time thermoacoustic (TA) scanner dedicated to imaging deep breast tumors and investigate its imaging performance. The TA imaging system is composed of an ultrashort microwave pulse generator and a ring transducer array with 384 elements. By vertically scanning the transducer array that encircles the breast phantom, we achieve real-time, 3D thermoacoustic imaging (TAI) with an imaging speed of 16.7 frames per second. The stability of the microwave energy and its distribution in the cling-skin acoustic coupling cup are measured. The results indicate that there is a nearly uniform electromagnetic field in each XY-imaging plane. Three plastic tubes filled with salt water are imaged dynamically to evaluate the real-time performance of our system, followed by 3D imaging of an excised breast tumor embedded in a breast phantom. Finally, to demonstrate the potential for clinical applications, the excised breast of a ewe embedded with an ex vivo human breast tumor is imaged clearly with a contrast of about 1:2.8. The high imaging speed, large field of view, and 3D imaging performance of our dedicated TAI system provide the potential for clinical routine breast screening.
authors.forename: Fanghao
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Zhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Wenzheng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Cunguang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.forename: Sihua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Da
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xing
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001940:Breast / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008872:Microwaves / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008954:Models, Biological; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D012756:Sheep; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013817:Thermography / Q000379:methods*