Post by Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica

Years of research have brought scientists closer to breast imaging that could one day provide more information for the detection and diagnosis of breast cancer, while being less burdensome for patients. Researchers from CWI, University of Twente, UCL, Medisch Spectrum Twente, Leiden University Medical Center and partners have published a new paper on a hybrid photoacoustic–ultrasound breast tomography system called PAM3. PAM3 combines two complementary imaging techniques. Photoacoustic tomography can visualize blood vessels in 3D without contrast agents, while ultrasound tomography provides information on tissue composition. In this study, the system imaged blood vessels in the breasts of healthy volunteers down to depths of up to 48 mm, showing details smaller than a millimetre. Current breast imaging methods each have their limitations, from discomfort and ionizing radiation to the use of contrast agents or limited performance in dense breast tissue. PAM3 is still a research system, and further work is needed before clinical use can be considered. But the results show its potential as a step towards breast imaging that combines functional and structural information. CWI’s contribution lies in the mathematics and computational imaging behind the system. Felix Lucka, senior researcher in CWI’s Computational Imaging group, is co-corresponding author of the paper. His work focuses on the inverse problems at the heart of biomedical imaging: turning complex measurement data into reliable images. Congratulations to all authors and partners involved in this long-term international collaboration 🎉! Read the paper 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eywDyUfh 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴: 𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘬 (𝘔𝘙𝘐 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵.