VHF-induced thermoacoustic imaging of fresh human prostates using a clinical ultrasound transducer array

S. K. Patch; W. A. See

doi:10.1117/12.2208693

15 March 2016 VHF-induced thermoacoustic imaging of fresh human prostates using a clinical ultrasound transducer array

S. K. Patch, W. A. See

Proceedings Volume 9708, Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2016; 97080E (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2208693
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2016, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to demonstrate that a clinical ultrasound transducer array can practically detect thermoacoustic pulses induced by irradiation by very high frequency (VHF) electromagnetic energy. This is an important step because thermoacoustic signal strength is directly proportional to the specific absorption rate (SAR), which is lower in the VHF regime than in microwave or optical regimes. A 96-channel transducer array (P4-1) providing 3 cm coverage was incorporated into a benchtop thermoacoustic imaging system for imaging fresh surgical specimens. Thermoacoustic signal was generated by 700 ns irradiation pulses with 11 kV/m electric field strength and 108 MHz carrier frequency. To improve SNR 1024 pulses were averaged at a 250 Hz repetition rate. Two sets of sinograms were acquired, separated by a 2 cm translation along the tomographic axis and reconstructed over a 6 x 6 x 5 cm3 volume. Contrast and in-plane resolution were measured by imaging a homogeneous cylindrical phantom and an 80- micron wire designed to highlight E-field polarization effects. FWHM of the in-plane point spread function varied from 250 microns to 1.1 mm, depending upon transducer used and phantom orientation relative to the electric field. Several fresh human prostates were imaged immediately after surgery. Rudimentary comparison to histology was performed and volumetric reconstruction of the multi-channel P4-1 data visualizes anatomic features that are rarely seen in ultrasound, CT, or MRI. The single element transducer provided superior image contrast, but with inferior resolution.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

S. K. Patch and W. A. See "VHF-induced thermoacoustic imaging of fresh human prostates using a clinical ultrasound transducer array", Proc. SPIE 9708, Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2016, 97080E (15 March 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2208693

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