PROJECT TITLE :

Computational Feasibility Study of Contrast-Enhanced Thermoacoustic Imaging for Breast Cancer Detection Using Realistic Numerical Breast Phantoms

ABSTRACT:

The feasibility of distinction-enhanced thermoacoustic imaging (CETAI) for breast cancer detection is investigated by a systematic computational study using realistic numerical breast phantoms with tumors. Single-walled carbon nanotubes with a nontoxic concentration are applied because the contrast agents to increase the dielectric properties of the breast tumors and enhance their detectability. Complete CETAI models are developed and solved for generated thermoacoustic signals by numerical techniques. Back-projection imaging and differential imaging are performed to visualise the tumors. It's shown that the placement, form, and dimension of the tumors in different breast phantoms are all reliably reconstructed within the obtained differential images, irrespective of the various breast densities. Moreover, many necessary aspects such as questions of safety, signal-to-noise ratio, scan time, figures of benefit of the image quality, and spatial resolution of the images are quantitatively studied to explore the feasibility of CETAI for doable clinical applications. The simulation result is verified by another freelance numerical technique and a preliminary experiment is performed to demonstrate the key purpose of the CETAI strategy. The presented results bolster the applications of CETAI as a potentially safe, possibly speedy, correct, high-resolution, and breast-density-insensitive technology for 3-D breast cancer detection.