TY - GEN
T1 - Backscatter coefficient estimation from human thyroid in vivo
AU - Cueva, Tony
AU - Rouyer, Julien
AU - Lavarello, Roberto
AU - Portal, Alberto
AU - Yamamoto, Tamy
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 IEEE.
PY - 2015/11/13
Y1 - 2015/11/13
N2 - Currently, fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy is the gold standard for the diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Therefore, there is a need to develop non-invasive tools that aid in the identification of malignant tissues in this gland. Quantitative ultrasound imaging using backscatter coefficients (BSCs) has shown potential to characterize thyroid tissues in rodent models ex vivo. As an initial step towards the goal of thyroid cancer diagnosis on a clinical setting, in this study the feasibility of BSC-based imaging in humans in vivo is evaluated. Radiofrequency data was collected using a scanner equipped with a 9-MHz linear probe from ten patients with no clinical records of thyroid disease and no thyroid nodules visible through ultrasonic examination. Backscatter coefficients were estimated using the reference phantom method and considering analysis regions of 4.5 mm by 4.5 mm. Attenuation compensation was performed considering the presence of sub-cutaneous fat, muscle, and thyroid tissues. Images were constructed by calculating the mean BSC within the analysis bandwidth spanning from 3 to 8 MHz The average value of the backscatter coefficients in normal thyroids was 0.056±0.037 1/(sr.cm) within the analysis bandwidth. The coefficient of variation of the mean BSC values of all the thyroid samples was less than 2dB. These results suggest that consistent imaging of BSC-derived parameters from human thyroids in vivo is possible and may play a role in thyroid tissue characterization.
AB - Currently, fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy is the gold standard for the diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Therefore, there is a need to develop non-invasive tools that aid in the identification of malignant tissues in this gland. Quantitative ultrasound imaging using backscatter coefficients (BSCs) has shown potential to characterize thyroid tissues in rodent models ex vivo. As an initial step towards the goal of thyroid cancer diagnosis on a clinical setting, in this study the feasibility of BSC-based imaging in humans in vivo is evaluated. Radiofrequency data was collected using a scanner equipped with a 9-MHz linear probe from ten patients with no clinical records of thyroid disease and no thyroid nodules visible through ultrasonic examination. Backscatter coefficients were estimated using the reference phantom method and considering analysis regions of 4.5 mm by 4.5 mm. Attenuation compensation was performed considering the presence of sub-cutaneous fat, muscle, and thyroid tissues. Images were constructed by calculating the mean BSC within the analysis bandwidth spanning from 3 to 8 MHz The average value of the backscatter coefficients in normal thyroids was 0.056±0.037 1/(sr.cm) within the analysis bandwidth. The coefficient of variation of the mean BSC values of all the thyroid samples was less than 2dB. These results suggest that consistent imaging of BSC-derived parameters from human thyroids in vivo is possible and may play a role in thyroid tissue characterization.
KW - backscatter coefficient
KW - quantitative imaging
KW - quantitative ultrasound
KW - thyroid
KW - tissue characterization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84962007634&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/ULTSYM.2015.0407
DO - 10.1109/ULTSYM.2015.0407
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84962007634
T3 - 2015 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, IUS 2015
BT - 2015 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, IUS 2015
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, IUS 2015
Y2 - 21 October 2015 through 24 October 2015
ER -
