一种新型医用成像技术——微波激励热声CT

介绍了一种基于崭新学术思想的医用成像技术——微波激励热声CT，这一技术架起了超声CT和微波CT功能和技术上优热互补的桥梁。在介绍它的成像原理的基础上，进而介绍了刚刚起步进行研究的两个实验装置和相应的成像实验，以及热声信号的获取和计算。     

一种新型医用成像技术--微波激励热声CT

介绍了一种基于崭新学术思想的医用成像技术--微波激励热声CT,这一技术架起了超声CT和微波CT功能和技术上优热互补的桥梁.在介绍它的成像原理的基础上,进而介绍了刚刚起步进行研究的两个实验装置和相应的成像实验,以及热声信号的获取和计算.     

注入式磁声成像中热声效应的初探

探究磁声成像中热声效应的影响。通过加载和不加载静磁场条件下,改变激励源的相位和幅值以及换能器的接收方向来验证铜、铝、石墨和凝胶四种不同特性样本被激发的磁声信号和热声效应信号,并进行分析。磁声成像中热声信号与激励电压的相位无关,其传播方向在各个方向都有,其幅值与激励的能量成正比。相对于其他样本而言,凝胶仿体中的热声效应的影响最大。在生物组织中进行磁声成像时,热声效应的影响不可忽略。     

微波激励热声信号采集系统

为了能够成功采集和提取微波脉冲照射生物组织所产生的微弱热声信号,实现对组织的微波热声成像,开发出了一种热声信号数据采集系统.制作了增益105dB、带宽3MHz的可调增益信号预处理器,结合软件设计解决了四通道大数据量保存问题;通过对LabVIEW和C语言进行混合编程实现数字式平均计算,对强噪声背景中的信号进行消噪处理,解决了平均计算过程中的数据漂移问题,这种方法还能够去除奇异信号从而获得更为准确的结果;最后通过实验对微波激励的信号进行采集和分析.实验结果证明本采集系统完全可以满足微波热声成像中热声信号采集的要求.达到预期效果.     

感应式磁声成像中的磁热声效应研究

探究感应式磁声成像中的磁热声效应, 分析磁声声源与热声声源分布及幅值特征。建立磁声及热声声源表达式, 数值仿真多层电导率仿真模型的感应电流分布、磁声+热声声源分布及声压信号, 对两种声源分布及重建结果进行比较。为验证仿真结果, 建立磁声成像实验平台, 采用导电橡胶圈仿体分别开展磁声和热声圆周扫描实验, 并对磁声和热声信号幅值和声源重建结果进行比较分析。仿真结果表明, 磁声声源分布集中在电导率边界处, 而热声声源分布展宽, 并且在边界和内部均有分布;磁声声源的最大值是热声声源的15倍。实验结果表明, 热声声压信号峰-峰值是混合信号的1/4。热声信号重建的声源图像在边界处更模糊, 磁声信号的声源重建图像边界清晰但存在伪影。仿真和实验结果均证明, 磁声成像中同时存在热声效应。从热声声源的分布及热声信号与磁声信号的幅值关系中可见, 热声效应在一定程度上会对磁声成像结果产生影响。     

Chirp编码激励磁声成像信号处理方法研究

目的磁声信号信噪比低限制了磁声成像的图像质量,本研究提出Chirp脉冲编码激励的磁声成像信号处理方法,以提高磁声信号信噪比,缩短信号处理时间。方法本研究通过仿真计算和磁声信号的实验测量,对不同脉冲宽度的Chirp信号编码激励的磁声信号进行了研究。结果对于体外实验猪肉与金属丝模型,编码激励明显提高磁声信号信噪比,10μs、50μs、100μs的Chirp激励,磁声信号信噪比相比于单脉冲激励分别提高7. 65倍、42倍和90. 1倍。同时处理时间明显缩短,100μs的Chirp激励下处理时间相比于单脉冲平均方法处理时间缩短为原来的1. 2%。结论本研究的脉冲编码处理方法对于提高磁声信号信噪比,改善成像质量,提高整体成像效率,具有重要意义。     

肝癌微波消融中热损伤参数分析

目的肝癌微波消融研究中,局部热损伤监测和消融仿真计算通常采用Arrhenius模型进行热损伤分析,该模型主要包括活化能Ea和频率因子A两个热损伤参数,然而现有肝脏热损伤参数缺少动力学特性和预测效果对比分析。方法本文采用Arrhenius模型从不同参数所描述的损伤速率和不同温度下的损伤进程方面阐述了其差别,并通过微波消融实验过程的温度数据分析了其对消融损伤的预测效果。结果分析数据表明,Ea(J/mol)和A(s^-1)分别为2.769×10^5和5.51×1041、2.577×10^5和7.39×10^39、1.200×10^5和4.016×10^17的3组参数较适用于消融边界处的损伤计算。结论本文对不同参数的对比有助于指导肝癌消融研究中合理选择热损伤参数进行热损伤分析,从而提高消融手术计划和术中疗效评估的准确性。     

基于多场耦合的生物组织微波热声信号分析

我们根据微波照射生物组织时电磁场、热场、声波场三者之间的耦合关系,对微波激励热声成像正问题展开研究.从实验样本热学和声学的空间不均匀性角度出发,应用有限元方法求解热声波传播方程.由于入射微波对不同组织的穿透深度不同,不同组织对微波能量的吸收率不同,导致样本内部初始热声源的位置不同,相应地影响到声压传播情况.仿真结果表明,不同检测点声压信号中的信息量是不同的,检测点的声压信号富含样本中组织结构和电声学特性的信息量,从而能够从检测点的信号反映出关于样本结构和组成的信息.     

磁声成像方法的研究进展

磁声成像技术（MAT）是电阻抗成像与超声成像相结合的一种方法。感应式磁声成像方法是将被测样本置于静磁场和交变磁场中,交变磁场在样本中产生涡流,涡流受到洛仑兹力作用而激发出超声波,通过检测超声信号重建电阻抗的分布。应用感应式磁声成像方法可以获得较高分辨率的图像和灵敏度,对临床辅助诊断具有重要意义。并在此基础上提出了无需旋转静磁场的感应式磁声成像方法。     

磁感应断层成像中激励线圈参数的选取

磁感应断层成像(MIT)是一种新的生物组织电特性成像方法。在MIT系统中,激励线圈的设计直接影响了线性检测范围和检测灵敏度。为了改善涡流感应区域磁场分布,在不同的MIT激励线圈半径、匝数、线径情况下,建立三维四层同心球头模型,进行三维瞬态有限元计算,并分析其对成像区域轴向磁感应强度和检测线圈感应电压的影响。研究结果表明,当增大激励线圈半径,增大线径及减少匝数时,检测线圈附近的轴向磁感应强度增加,线性检测范围扩大,检测深度增大。该研究对MIT系统设计具有重要的指导意义。     

Scanning microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography: signal, resolution, and contrast

Scanning thermoacoustic tomography was explored in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Short microwave pulses were used to induce acoustic waves by thermoelastic expansion in biological tissues. Cross sections of tissue samples were imaged by a linear scan of the samples while a focused ultrasonic transducer detected the time-resolved thermoacoustic signals. Based on the microwave-absorption properties of normal and cancerous breast tissues, the piezoelectric signals in response to the thermoacoustic contrast were investigated over a wide range of electromagnetic frequencies and depths of tumor locations. The axial resolution is related to the temporal profile of the microwave pulses and to the impulse response of the ultrasonic transducer. The lateral resolution is related to the numerical aperture of the ultrasonic transducer as well as to the frequency spectra of the piezoelectric signals in the time window corresponding to the axial resolution. Gain compensation, counteracting the microwave attenuation, was applied to enhance the image contrast.     

Effects of acoustic heterogeneities on transcranial brain imaging with microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography

The effects of acoustic heterogeneities on transcranial brain imaging with microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography were studied. A numerical model for calculating the propagation of thermoacoustic waves through the skull was developed and experimentally examined. The model takes into account wave reflection and refraction at the skull surfaces and therefore provides improved accuracy for the reconstruction. To evaluate when the skull-induced effects could be ignored in reconstruction, the reconstructed images obtained by the proposed method were further compared with those obtained with the method based on homogeneous acoustic properties. From simulation and experimental results, it was found that when the target region is close to the center of the brain, the effects caused by the skull layer are minimal and both reconstruction methods work well. As the target region becomes closer to the interface between the skull and brain tissue, however, the skull-induced distortion becomes increasingly severe, and the reconstructed image would be strongly distorted without correcting those effects. In this case, the proposed numerical method can improve image quality by taking into consideration the wave refraction and mode conversion at the skull surfaces. This work is important for obtaining good brain images when the thickness of the skull cannot be ignored.     

Reconstructions in limited-view thermoacoustic tomography

The limited-view problem is studied for thermoacoustic tomography, which is also referred to as photoacoustic or optoacoustic tomography depending on the type of radiation for the induction of acoustic waves. We define a "detection region," within which all points have sufficient detection views. It is explained analytically and shown numerically that the boundaries of any objects inside this region can be recovered stably. Otherwise some sharp details become blurred. One can identify in advance the parts of the boundaries that will be affected if the detection view is insufficient. If the detector scans along a circle in a two-dimensional case, acquiring a sufficient view might require covering more than a pi-, or less than a pi-arc of the trajectory depending on the position of the object. Similar results hold in a three-dimensional case. In order to support our theoretical conclusions, three types of reconstruction methods are utilized: a filtered backprojection (FBP) approximate inversion, which is shown to work well for limited-view data, a local-tomography-type reconstruction that emphasizes sharp details (e.g., the boundaries of inclusions), and an iterative algebraic truncated conjugate gradient algorithm used in conjunction with FBP. Computations are conducted for both numerically simulated and experimental data. The reconstructions confirm our theoretical predictions.     

Scanning thermoacoustic tomography in biological tissue

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography was explored to image biological tissue. Short microwave pulses irradiated tissue to generate acoustic waves by thermoelastic expansion. The microwave-induced thermoacoustic waves were detected with a focused ultrasonic transducer. Each time-domain signal from the ultrasonic transducer represented a one-dimensional image along the acoustic axis of the ultrasonic transducer similar to an ultrasonic A-scan. Scanning the system perpendicularly to the acoustic axis of the ultrasonic transducer would generate multi-dimensional images. Two-dimensional tomographic images of biological tissue were obtained with 3-GHz microwaves. The axial and lateral resolutions were characterized. The time-domain piezo-electric signal from the ultrasonic transducer in response to the thermoacoustic signal was simulated theoretically, and the theoretical result agreed with the experimental result very well.     

Near-field thermoacoustic tomography of small animals

Near-field radiofrequency thermoacoustic (NRT) tomography is a new imaging method that was developed to mitigate limitations of conventional thermoacoustic imaging approaches, related to hard compromises between signal strength and spatial resolution. By utilizing ultrahigh-energy electromagnetic impulses at ～20 ns duration along with improved energy absorption coupling in the near-field, this method can deliver high-resolution images without compromising signal to noise ratio. NRT is a promising modality, offering cost-effectiveness and ease of implementation and it can be conveniently scaled to image small animals and humans. However, several of the performance metrics of the method are not yet documented. In this paper, we characterize the expected imaging performance via numerical simulations based on a finite-integration time-domain (FITD) technique and experiments using tissue mimicking phantoms and different biological samples. Furthermore, we show for the first time whole-body tomographic imaging results from mice, revealing clear anatomical details along with highly dissipative inclusions introduced for control. The best spatial resolution achieved for those experiments was 150 μm.     

Fundamentals and prospects of passive thermoacoustic tomography

The problems and possibilities of passive thermoacoustical tomography are discussed. Algorithms for reconstruction of internal temperature in the human body are proposed. These algorithms take into account heat transfer and blood circulation and the absorption factor, obtained previously. The results of reconstruction of deep temperature in the human hand in simulations with the medium with a heated object are reported. These results support the possibility of the correlation measurements of the thermal acoustic radiation. Such measurements allow the information on ultrasound absorption by the object under study to be obtained and open the way to the development of a passive acoustic tomography system using a priori information on the absorption factor.     

Signal processing in scanning thermoacoustic tomography in biological tissues

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography was explored to image biological tissues. Short microwave pulses irradiated tissues to generate acoustic waves by thermoelastic expansion. The microwave-induced thermoacoustic waves were detected with a focused ultrasonic transducer to obtain two-dimensional tomographic images of biological tissues. The dependence of the axial and the lateral resolutions on the spectra of the signals was studied. A reshaping filter was applied to the temporal piezoelectric signals from the transducer to increase the weight of the high-frequency components, which improved the lateral resolution, and to broaden the spectrum of the signal, which enhanced the axial resolution. A numerical simulation validated our signal-processing approach.     

Pulsed-microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography: filtered backprojection in a circular measurement configuration

Our study on pulsed-microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography in biological tissues is presented. A filtered backprojection algorithm based on rigorous theory is used to reconstruct the cross-sectional image from a thermoacoustic measurement in a circular configuration that encloses the sample under study. Specific details describing the measurement of thermoacoustic waves and the implementation of the reconstruction algorithm are discussed. A two-dimensional (2D) phantom sample with 2 mm features can be imaged faithfully. Through numerical simulation, the full width half-maximum (FWHM) of the point-spread function (PSF) is calculated to estimate the spatial resolution. The results demonstrate that the circular measurement configuration combined with the filtered backprojection method is a promising technique for detecting small tumors buried in biological tissues by utilizing microwave absorption contrast and ultrasound spatial resolution (approximately mm).     

Imaging of high-intensity focused ultrasound-induced lesions in soft biological tissue using thermoacoustic tomography

An imaging technology, thermoacoustic tomograpy (TAT), was applied to the visualization of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)-induced lesions. A single, spherically focused ultrasonic transducer, operating at a central frequency of approximately 4 MHz, was used to generate a HIFU field in fresh porcine muscle. Microwave pulses from a 3-GHz microwave generator were then employed to generate thermoacoustic sources in this tissue sample. The thermoacoustic signals were detected by an unfocused ultrasonic transducer that was scanned around the sample. To emphasize the boundaries between the lesion and its surrounding tissue, a local-tomography-type reconstruction method was applied to reconstruct the TAT images of the lesions. Good contrast was obtained between the lesion and the tissue surrounding it. Gross pathologic photographs of the tissue samples confirmed the TAT images.This work demonstrates that TAT may potentially be used to image HIFU-induced lesions in biological tissues.     

微波CT的研究和发展

本文在介绍微波 CT工作原理和特点的基础上 ,重点对实验样机的建立、成像频率的实验和选择、图像重建算法的探索几个方面进行了叙述和分析。回顾了微波 CT不断深入进行研究和进展的情况 ,介绍了多方面的研究成果以及当前待解决的主要问题