An investigation on attenuation UCT with wave paths enhancement for breast ultrasound

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent health hazards in women all over the world. An annual screening test using a diagnostic ultrasound seems to be an appropriate method to handle this physical threat. In this paper, we propose the use of a two‐dimensional reflection‐mode ultrasonic tomography system for a general breast ultrasound investigation enhanced by an echo wave path using a wave reflecting plate. Our virtual imaging setup system is composed of a 128‐element conventional linear array transducer placed on the top of a water bath and a wave reflector attached around this setup. The shape of the wave reflector was designed as a single plate shape, rectangular shape and curve shape. For projection data, we estimate a line integral insonifying data by using a classical integration slope of attenuation coefficient method in which its derivative is independent of transmittance, reflectance, and noise. By imaging a virtual breast phantom model, the reconstruction results obtained from an iterative algebraic reconstruction technique (ART) algorithm show a promising image. The image is not only indicates a tissue characterization from quantitative attenuation data, but also restores an area covered by hard tissue due to an increased wave path direction from our nonrotational imaging system. These results encourage us to implement our concept with a clinical study in the near future. © 2012 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.