Executive Summary : | The percentage of metastatic prostate disease patients surviving five years is low, making early detection with accurate localization crucial. The current rate of tumor detection based on Digital Rectal Examination (DRE) is limited, with only about 50% diagnostic sensitivity. Techniques that can improve screening sensitivity and allow for early tumor detection are of vital interest. This proposal aims to build an affordable ultrasound prostate Elastography platform using a novel diverging-beam based synthetic aperture approach. The outcome may pave the way for imaging novel tissue properties using TRUS-transducer and demonstrating the feasibility of these advanced modes on an affordable scanner platform. Experiments will characterize the imaging system, estimate spatial resolution, frame-rate, contrast to noise ratio, and sensitivity based on B-mode (sonogram) image quality and various elastography images. The system will be tested using CFB technology and the novel DB-SAT scheme. The research outcome is expected to provide data and information that can be utilized to advance the clinical application area of prostate imaging. Once developed, such a system is expected to be inexpensive with scope for commercialization. The newer modes of imaging developed can allow clinical investigators to visualize more than just anatomy, such as boundary condition and material property with elastography. Advanced yet affordable scanners can push the benefits of ultrasound imaging beyond hospital settings to rural point-of-care utilization. |