Application of thermoacoustic computed tomography to breast imaging

Acoustic pressure waves are induced in soft tissue whenever time-varying radiation is absorbed. By recording these time-dependent pressure waves over a sufficient number of angles surrounding the tissue being imaged, it is possible to reconstruct the pattern of radiation absorption within the tissue in three dimensions with spatial resolution that is independent of the carrier frequency of the irradiating energy. We recently constructed the world's first thermoacoustic computed tomography (TACT) scanner, which exploits this physical interaction. Initial in vivo imaging of a human breast was performed using safe levels of 434 MHz radiation. Good soft tissue differentiation with 2 - 5 mm spatial resolution to a depth of 40 mm was achieved. The absorption properties of the breast and the irradiation pattern within the breast determined the TACT image contrast. The length of the RF pulse, the size of the transducers and their frequency response, the geometry of the detector array, and the reconstruction algorithm that was used determined the spatial resolution. We conclude that TACT imaging may have application to breast cancer detection.