PROOF OF CONCEPT OF 3-D BACKSCATTER TENSOR IMAGING TOMOGRAPHY FOR NON-INVASIVE ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN BREAST CANCER COLLAGEN ORGANIZATION

growth, similarly to several other pathologies, tends to change the structural orientation of soft tissue fibers, which can become relevant markers for diagnosis. Current diagnosis protocols may require a biopsy for histological analysis, which is an invasive, painful and stressful procedure with a minimum turnaround time of 2 d. Otherwise, diagnosis may involve the use of complex methods with limited availability such as diffusion tensor imaging (magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging), which is not widely used in medical practice. Conversely, advanced methodologies in ultrasound imaging such as backscatter tensor imaging (BTI) might become a routine procedure in clinical practice at a limited cost. This method evaluates the local organization of soft tissues based on the spatial coherence of their backscattered ultrasonic echoes. Previous work has proven that BTI applied with matrix probes enables measurement of the orientation of soft tissue fibers, especially in the myocardium. The aims of the study described here were (i) to present for the first time a methodology for performing BTI in a volume on ex vivo human breast tumors using a linear probe and (ii) to display a first proof of concept of the link between BTI measurements and the orientation of collagen fibers. (E-mail: jean-francois. aubry@espci.psl.eu)(c) 2022 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Changes in the structural orientation of soft tissue fibers can serve as relevant markers for diagnosis, and backscatter tensor imaging (BTI) is a low-cost ultrasound imaging method that can be used to assess the local organization of soft tissues. This study presented a methodology for performing BTI in ex vivo human breast tumors using a linear probe for the first time and provided a proof of concept for the link between BTI measurements and the orientation of collagen fibers.