University of Illinois at Chicago (M/C 154), 851 South Morgan Street, 1020 SEO Chicago, IL 60607-7053, United States of America.
Phys Med Biol. 2021 May 12;66(10). doi: 10.1088/1361-6560/abf954.
Microwave thermoacoustic tomography (MTT) uses microwave pulse-induced thermoelastic pressure waves to form planar or tomographic images. Since the generation and detection of thermoelastic pressure waves depends on dielectric permittivity, specific heat, thermal expansion, and acoustic properties of tissue, microwave thermoacoustic imaging possesses the characteristic features of a dual-modality imaging system. The unique attributes of the high contrast offered by microwave absorption and the fine spatial resolution furnished by ultrasound are being explored to provide a nonionizing and noninvasive imaging modality for characterization of tissues, especially for early detection of breast cancer. This paper reviews the research being conducted in developing MTT imaging for medical diagnosis. It discusses the science of thermoelastic wave generation and propagation in biological tissues, the design of prototype MTT systems, the reconstruction of tomographic images, and the application and accomplishment of prototype MTT systems in phantom models and experimental subjects.
微波热声断层成像（MTT）使用微波脉冲诱导的热弹性压力波来形成平面或断层图像。由于热弹性压力波的产生和检测取决于组织的介电常数、比热容、热膨胀和声学特性，因此微波热声成像是一种具有双重模态成像系统特征的成像方式。正在探索微波吸收提供的高对比度和超声提供的精细空间分辨率的独特属性，以提供一种用于组织特征描述的非电离和非侵入性成像方式，特别是用于早期乳腺癌检测。本文综述了用于医学诊断的 MTT 成像开发研究。它讨论了生物组织中热弹性波产生和传播的科学、原型 MTT 系统的设计、断层图像的重建，以及原型 MTT 系统在体模和实验对象中的应用和成果。
