Jiang Wei-wei, Li Cheng, Li An-hua, Zheng Yong-Ping
Interdisciplinary Division of Biomedical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
Department of Ultrasound, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China; Department of Ultrasound, Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Zhongshan, Zhongshan, China.
Ultrasonics. 2015 Feb;56:427-34. doi: 10.1016/j.ultras.2014.09.009. Epub 2014 Sep 27.
Breast ultrasound images along coronal plane contain important diagnosis information. However, conventional clinical 2D ultrasound cannot provide such images. In order to solve this problem, we developed a novel ultrasound system aimed at providing breast coronal images. In this system, a spatial sensor was fixed on an ultrasound probe to obtain the image spatial data. A narrow-band rendering method was used to form coronal images based on B-mode images and their corresponding spatial data. Software was developed for data acquisition, processing, rendering and visualization. In phantom experiments, 20 inclusions with different size (5-20 mm) were measured using this new system. The results obtained by the new method well correlated with those measured by a micrometer (y=1.0147x, R(2)=0.9927). The phantom tests also showed that this system had excellent intra- and inter-operator repeatability (ICC>0.995). Three subjects with breast lesions were scanned in vivo using this new system and a commercially available three-dimensional (3D) probe. The average scanning times for the two systems were 64 s and 74 s, respectively. The results revealed that this new method required shorter scanning time. The tumor sizes measured on the coronal plane provided by the new method were smaller by 5.6-11.9% in comparison with the results of the 3D probe. The phantom tests and preliminary subject tests indicated the feasibility of this system for clinical applications by providing additional information for clinical breast ultrasound diagnosis.
沿冠状面的乳腺超声图像包含重要的诊断信息。然而，传统的临床二维超声无法提供此类图像。为了解决这个问题，我们开发了一种新型超声系统，旨在提供乳腺冠状图像。在该系统中，一个空间传感器固定在超声探头上以获取图像空间数据。基于B模式图像及其相应的空间数据，采用窄带渲染方法来形成冠状图像。开发了用于数据采集、处理、渲染和可视化的软件。在体模实验中，使用这个新系统测量了20个不同大小（5 - 20毫米）的内含物。新方法获得的结果与用千分尺测量的结果高度相关（y = 1.0147x，R² = 0.9927）。体模测试还表明，该系统具有出色的操作者内和操作者间重复性（ICC > 0.995）。使用这个新系统和市售的三维（3D）探头对三名患有乳腺病变的受试者进行了体内扫描。两个系统的平均扫描时间分别为64秒和74秒。结果显示，这种新方法所需的扫描时间更短。与3D探头的结果相比，新方法在冠状面上测量的肿瘤大小小5.6 - 11.9%。体模测试和初步受试者测试表明，该系统通过为临床乳腺超声诊断提供额外信息，具有临床应用的可行性。
