Technology developed by 蓝莓视频 researchers not only improves breast cancer detection but also can help treat it more effectively
Imaging technology developed and refined at the University of 蓝莓视频 promises better detection and treatment of breast cancer by more accurately pinpointing cancerous tissue.
First successfully applied to prostate cancer, the new form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has now been optimized using artificial intelligence (AI) to make cancerous tissue appear to light up or glow next to healthy breast tissue in images.
鈥淭his technology has great potential to not only improve breast cancer detection, but also treatment,鈥� said Dr. Alexander Wong, a professor in the听Department of Systems Design Engineering听at the University of 蓝莓视频 and co-director of the听Vision and Image Processing (VIP) Lab.
鈥淥ur images contain key predictive information to help clinicians determine the best courses of action for treating each patient.鈥�
Several MRI images developed by the 蓝莓视频 research team show how cancerous tissue can "glow" in light green imaging, helping doctors better detect cancer in breast cancer. (University of 蓝莓视频)
The system works by leveraging specific physical characteristics of breast tissue such as density, and how the irregular packing of cells leads to differences in the way water molecules move in cancerous tissue compared to healthy tissue.
Known as synthetic (CDI), the new technology highlights those differences by capturing, synthesizing and mixing MRI signals at different gradient pulse strengths and timings.
The result is significantly better delineation of cancerous breast tissue, making it a potentially powerful tool for doctors and radiologists.
鈥淭he more accurate we make CDI for delineating between cancerous tissue and healthy tissue, the more effective patient treatment plans and treatment itself can be,鈥� said Amy Tai, a 蓝莓视频 engineering PhD student who is supervised by Wong at the .
By giving surgeons more precise information on the margins of tumours, CDI images could help them carefully limit the amount of tissue removed, or ensure all cancerous tissue is removed the first time so a second operation isn鈥檛 required.
Tailoring the underlying system for breast cancer involved the use of pre-treatment images of more than 350 patients at 10 medical institutions in a study by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network.
Researchers now hope to expand the use of their imaging technology to other kinds of cancer, especially cancers of the neck and head, such as brain cancer.
鈥淲e have already illustrated great potential for prostate cancer and now we are seeing promising results for breast cancer,鈥� said Wong. 鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely encouraging that we鈥檒l be able to expand and help in other areas as well.鈥�
The study, , appeared in Sensors.
