MOE Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science and Institute of Laser Life Science, College of Biophotonics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, People's Republic of China.
Phys Med Biol. 2010 Sep 7;55(17):5203-12. doi: 10.1088/0031-9155/55/17/020. Epub 2010 Aug 16.
Imaging of renal calculi is important for patients who suffered a urinary calculus prior to treatment. The available imaging techniques include plain x-ray, ultrasound scan, intravenous urogram, computed tomography, etc. However, the visualization of a uric acid calculus (radiolucent calculi) is difficult and often impossible by the above imaging methods. In this paper, a new detection method based on microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography was developed to detect the renal calculi. Thermoacoustic images of calcium oxalate and uric acid calculus were compared with their x-ray images. The microwave absorption differences among the calcium oxalate calculus, uric acid calculus and normal kidney tissue could be evaluated by the amplitude of the thermoacoustic signals. The calculi hidden in the swine kidney were clearly imaged with excellent contrast and resolution in the three orthogonal thermoacoustic images. The results indicate that thermoacoustic imaging may be developed as a complementary method for detecting renal calculi, and its low cost and effective feature shows high potential for clinical applications.
肾结石的影像学检查对于治疗前有尿路结石病史的患者非常重要。现有的影像学技术包括平片、超声扫描、静脉尿路造影、计算机断层扫描等。然而，尿酸结石（透光结石）的影像学表现较为困难，上述影像学方法往往难以甚至无法发现尿酸结石。在本文中，我们开发了一种基于微波诱导热声断层扫描的新检测方法来检测肾结石。比较了草酸钙和尿酸结石的热声图像与其 X 射线图像。通过热声信号的幅度可以评估草酸钙结石、尿酸结石和正常肾组织之间的微波吸收差异。在三个正交的热声图像中，可以清晰地显示出隐藏在猪肾中的结石，具有极好的对比度和分辨率。结果表明，热声成像是一种检测肾结石的补充方法，其低成本和高效的特点显示出在临床应用中的巨大潜力。
