Dedicated Point Of Care Whole-Breast 3D Ultrasound Device
C Park1,2*, J Bax2, D Tessier2, L Gardi2, A Fenster1,2, (1) Western University, London, ON, CA, (2) Robarts Research Institute, London, ON, CA
Presentations
TU-J430-BReP-F1-1 (Tuesday, 7/12/2022) 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM [Eastern Time (GMT-4)]
Exhibit Hall | Forum 1
Purpose: To develop a portable dedicated point-of-care (POC) 3D ultrasound (US) device for automated high-resolution whole-breast imaging, toward bedside detection of early-stage breast cancer independent of breast tissue density.
Methods: We developed a dedicated 3DUS device is a portable, self-contained unit capable of supine automated whole-breast scanning and multi-image registration and fusion of acquired 3DUS images to expand field-of-view. The 3DUS system is composed of a customized 3D-printed dam to conform to the patient, an adjustable compression assembly with a sonolucent TPX plate to immobilize the breast, and a motorized linear scanner and US cradle, which can accommodate any US transducer. When the device was affixed to the patient, hands-free automated 3DUS scanning was performed by activating the motorized linear scanner and reconstructing a 3DUS image in real-time. To expand the field-of-view, the US cradle can be shifted laterally to a known position to acquire additional 3DUS volumes, which are combined in real-time with a transformation and voxel-based fusion algorithm. Whole-breast 3DUS imaging was performed in a tissue-mimicking breast phantom with visible spherical structures and volumetric reconstruction error was assessed. The first proof-of-concept for the proposed whole-breast 3DUS approach was evaluated in a healthy female volunteer study.
Results: Whole-breast 3DUS imaging performed with a breast phantom allowed for dynamic multi-planar viewing. Volumetric reconstruction error of the spherical structures in the whole-breast 3DUS image was 1.98 ± 1.34% (N = 10) showing accurate multi-image registration and fusion. High-resolution whole-breast 3DUS images were acquired in the female volunteer study and anatomical features including glandular tissues were clearly visualized and near seamlessly combined.
Conclusion: The proposed 3DUS device shows potential as an alternative approach for automated supine whole-breast imaging with the capability for efficient acquisition with the apparatus affixed directly on the patient, showing potential utility for bedside point-of-care (POC) imaging.
Funding Support, Disclosures, and Conflict of Interest: This work was gratefully supported by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) Imaging Technology Program, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada.
Keywords
Taxonomy
IM- Ultrasound : Development (new technology and techniques)
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