U.S. patent application number 13/532393 was filed with the patent office on 2012-11-01 for imaging by magnetic resonance adsorption, elastography and tomography.
This patent application is currently assigned to The Trustees of Dartmouth college. Invention is credited to Paul M. MEANEY, Keith D. PAULSEN, John B. WEAVER.
Application Number | 20120274325 13/532393 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32507592 |
Filed Date | 2012-11-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120274325 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MEANEY; Paul M. ; et
al. |
November 1, 2012 |
Imaging By Magnetic Resonance Adsorption, Elastography And
Tomography
Abstract
A microwave imaging system provides superior breast imaging
resolution by combining MR microwave absorption and MR-compatible
microwave tomography calculations. These techniques may also be
supplemented with magnetic resonance elastography calculations, for
example, to facilitate quick multispectral imaging.
Inventors: |
MEANEY; Paul M.; (Hanover,
NH) ; PAULSEN; Keith D.; (Hanover, NH) ;
WEAVER; John B.; (Hanover, NH) |
Assignee: |
The Trustees of Dartmouth
college
|
Family ID: |
32507592 |
Appl. No.: |
13/532393 |
Filed: |
June 25, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12246259 |
Oct 6, 2008 |
8207733 |
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13532393 |
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10529451 |
Mar 28, 2005 |
7439736 |
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PCT/US03/30577 |
Sep 26, 2003 |
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12246259 |
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60414617 |
Sep 27, 2002 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
324/309 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01R 33/56316 20130101;
A61B 5/0507 20130101; G01R 33/56358 20130101; A61B 5/05 20130101;
A61B 5/0035 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
324/309 |
International
Class: |
G01R 33/44 20060101
G01R033/44 |
Goverment Interests
GOVERNMENT LICENSE RIGHTS
[0002] The U.S. Government has certain rights in this invention as
provided for by the terms of Grant NIH-NCI#CA80139-01A1 awarded by
the National Institutes of Health.
Claims
1. A method of determining electrical properties of an
inhomogeneous target in an MR environment, comprising: measuring
electric field values external to said target using an antenna
array that is MR-compatible, in which an active transmitting
antenna transmits a microwave signal, and an active receiving
antenna receives said microwave signal, and using said measured
electric field values with a mathematical model to compute an
electric property distribution in said target to compensate for an
effect of a non-active antenna of the array on said measured
electric field values by: presenting a matched characteristic
impedance to a non-active antenna of an antenna array; and modeling
said non-active antenna as an electromagnetic sink in a numerical
model.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting antenna
transmits a microwave signal within the range of 300 MHz to 3 GHz.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 12/246,259, filed Oct. 6, 2008 which is a divisional of
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/529,451, filed Sep. 26, 2003,
which claimed priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.
60/414,617, filed Sep. 27, 2002, each of which are incorporated
herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0003] This invention relates to magnetic resonance (MR) imaging
systems and microwave tomography systems. In particular, a system
combines MR microwave absorption imaging with MR-compatible
microwave tomography to differentiate biological tissues having
different electrical properties. These techniques may also be
combined with data generation in magnetic resonance elastography
(MRE).
BACKGROUND
[0004] MR elastography (MRE) involves measuring motion resulting
from low frequency vibration. Present MR elastography methods use a
separate gradient waveform to encode the motion, for example, in
the context of the Larmor equation that is used to measure tissue
strain and discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,828 issued to Rossman
et al. The gradient waveform may be added between the RF excitation
and the readout of the echo. The resulting increased echo time has
the undesirable effect of decreasing the signal amplitude, as well
as increasing the imaging time.
[0005] MRE has shown promise in tissue imaging, including breast
imaging. Several acquisition methods with corresponding
reconstruction methods have been used to find the shear modulus of
tissue in vivo. The first elastographic methods used ultrasound to
measure static and dynamic displacements and the raw strain images
were interpreted without reconstruction. See J. Ophir et al.,
"Elastography: A Quantitative Method for Imaging the Elasticity of
Biological Tissues," Ultrasonic Imaging, 13:111-134 (1991); and K.
J. Parker et al., "Tissue response to mechanical vibrations for
`sonoelasticity imaging,`" Ultrasound Med. Biol. 16(3):241-6
(1990). The first MR elastographic method measured the local
wavelengths of plane waves that were measured with a phase contrast
method to ascertain the shear modulus. Since then, static MR
methods have also been developed. More recently, methods have been
developed that measure steady state motion instead of plane wave
motion and use reconstructions of the partial differential
equations for dynamic elastic motion.
[0006] All present MR-based methods use similar phase contrast
methods to encode the motion of the tissue resulting from the low
frequency vibrations induced in the tissue. Phase data of each
voxel, i.e., a 3D pixel depicted as a 2D pixel with. color/grey
scale amplitude indications, is accumulated by moving the tissue in
synchrony with the motion-encoding gradients. In static MR methods,
the accumulated phase of each voxel reflects the amplitude of the
motion. In dynamic MR methods, the accumulated phase of each voxel
reflects the phase and amplitude of the tissue motion such that the
accumulated phase must be acquired for several relative phases
between the motion and gradients to solve for the amplitude and
phase of the motion of each voxel.
[0007] All of the methods described above employ separate motion
encoding gradients to accumulate the phase in each voxel.
[0008] Current methods for breast cancer detection and diagnosis
are imperfect. For women under the age of 40 and for those under
the age of 50 but with radiographically dense breasts, physical
breast examination is the primary method of general screening.
Unfortunately, physical breast exam has very low sensitivity and
detects less than 20% of breast cancers that are detectable by
X-ray mammography. In addition, cancers detected by physical exams
tend to be at a later stage than those evident on mammographs,
adversely affecting their prognosis. For younger women with dense
breasts, the rates of false negatives and false positives generated
by physical breast exams are even higher.
[0009] X-ray mammography has become the norm for breast cancer
screening in recent years. However, X-ray mammography not only
exposes subjects to ionizing radiation, but also has limited
sensitivity and low positive predictive value. Conventional
mammography also suffers from patient acceptance issues due to
compression-related discomfort. While mammography is regarded as
the single most important tool in early detection of breast cancer,
it is not generally recommended for women under the age of 40 due
to its limited efficacy on pre-menopausal breasts.
[0010] Thus, while contemporary screening practices have a
beneficial effect on breast cancer detection, the limitations
delineated above, especially among younger women, underscore the
need to develop alternative methods to detect and characterize
breast cancer. Many alternative strategies for breast cancer
detection are currently being developed. Among them, a number of
strategies for imaging the breast with microwaves are being
investigated at the simulation, phantom and clinical scales. One
approach maps microwave absorption by recording the thermoacoustic
response induced by microwaves. In these studies, the microwave
power absorbed by tissues generates heat and causes thermal
expansion of the tissues, which launch pressure waves detectable by
ultrasonic transducers. Results from these studies have shown
millimeter spatial resolution arising from microwave irradiation at
the centimeter wavelength scale. Although ultrasound detection has
the advantages of wide-band response and relatively low cost, it
also has considerable drawbacks, such as signal loss from
attenuation, background clutter and geometric dilution resulting
from the propagation distance between the target and the
remotely-positioned noninvasive sensors. Alternative approaches to
image the breast through non-thermally induced mechanical waves
detected by ultrasonic transducers have also been investigated
since the early 1990s.
[0011] In addition to ultrasonic techniques, MR methods have also
been applied to detect non-thermally induced elastic waves emitted
by tissues. While traditional MRI does not work well for detecting
breast cancers, due to the low contrast between normal and
malignant tissues, recent reports on the detection of
motion-induced mechanical waves using MR techniques demonstrate the
superior volumetric resolution of MR and the potential benefit of
applying MR in breast cancer detection. In these studies, MR
techniques are employed to record an elastic wave response and map
tissue elasticity, which provide better discrimination of malignant
tissues with altered electrical properties. Despite these potential
advantages, MR techniques have not been applied to measure
thermally-induced mechanical waves generated by microwave power
absorption.
[0012] One problem inherent in thermoelastic wave induction is that
the process is governed by local power absorption which in the
electromagnetic case is a product of the intrinsic tissue
properties (i.e., electrical conductivity) and the squared
magnitude of the electric field. The time-averaged (or
instantaneous) power deposition is a function of the fundamental
property of the tissue, but also of extrinsic factors which shape
specifics of the applied field distribution. For example, the
geometry of the breast, the characteristics of the microwave
radiator, and the electrical properties of both normal and
pathological (if any) tissues govern the local field behavior. This
problem has not been overcome in the art, and a continuing need
exists to develop new systems for breast cancer detection that are
safer, more effective and more comfortable than current detection
tools.
SUMMARY
[0013] The present system addresses the above and other problems,
thereby advancing the state of the useful arts, by utilizing one or
more imaging gradient waveforms to identify motion of the specimen
in an MRE system. All of the gradients accumulate phase from motion
and, consequently, may be used to encode the phase. Echo times are
advantageously reduced because the imaging gradients encode a
harmonic motion, as opposed to separate motion-encoding gradients.
Some distortion is possible in this approach. However, the
distortion of the phase caused by simultaneously encoding position
and motion is minimal because the phase accumulated by the motion
is small compared to the phase changes generated during frequency
encoding. Imaging times for 100 Hz vibrations can be reduced by a
factor of from 2 to 3 or more. Moreover, the echo times can be
reduced by a factor of more than three which increases the signal
to noise ratios (SNR) significantly in a positive way. There is a
reduction in the sensitivity to motion so larger amplitude motions
are desired. However, the increase in SNR compensates to some
extent for the loss in sensitivity, even with no increase in the
amplitude of the motion.
[0014] In one aspect, the system may combine MR imaging and
microwave technology, namely, MR microwave absorption (MRMA) and
MR-compatible microwave tomography (MRMT). These techniques may be
applied separately, but are advantageously integrated in one
system. One technique, MRMA, uses MR to image microwave-induced
thermoelastic waves to detect tissue pathology. Utilization of MR
techniques enable the localization of the wave response to tissue
volumes commensurate with the size and scale necessary for breast
cancer detection. The other technique, MRMT, incorporates
MR-compatible microwave tomography to deconvolve the absorption
response into its electromagnetic field and property constituents.
The advantage of integrating MRMA and MRMT in one system is two
fold. On the one hand, MRMT enables separation of material property
effects from the field effects upon power absorption and
facilitates, via a feedback loop to MRMA processes, a more accurate
calculation of tissue electrical properties that are useful in
MRMA. Symbiotically, MRMA enhances the tomographical map by
supplying geometrical and anatomical data that may improve the
spatial resolution of MRMT. In an embodiment, microwave radiation
includes a band ranging from 300 MHz to 30 GHz which are
frequencies that are generally useful for both MRMA and MRMT.
[0015] In another aspect, a method of determining electrical
properties of an inhomogeneous target in an MR environment is
disclosed, the method is measuring electric field values external
to the target using an antenna array that is MR-compatible, in
which an active transmitting antenna transmits a microwave signal,
and an active receiving antenna receives the microwave signal, and
using the measured electric field values with a mathematical model
to compute an electric property distribution in the target to
compensate for an effect of a non-active antenna of the array on
the measured electric field values by presenting a matched
characteristic impedance to a non-active antenna of an antenna
array and modeling the non-active antenna as an electromagnetic
sink in a numerical model. In an embodiment, the method of
determining electrical properties of an inhomogeneous target in an
MR environment is disclosed and is further characterized in that
frequency of the electromagnetic energy is within a range of 300
MHz to 3 GHz.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram depicting integration of an MR
microwave absorption system and an MR-compatible microwave
tomography system in accordance with one embodiment of the
system;
[0017] FIG. 2 depicts one embodiment of the clinical interface,
including a monopole antenna mounted on a vertically movable solid
array plate, and microwave high-power excitation source plate
housed inside a chamber filled with fluid;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of one monopole antenna design
where the small diameter element of the system constructed from a
thin semi-rigid coaxial cable with additional dielectric material
provides structural support.
[0019] FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a vertical array
translation comprising a Plexiglas.TM. mounting plate with flat
side gearing;
[0020] FIG. 5 is a process schematic diagram for MR
elastography;
[0021] FIGS. 6A and 6B show a examples of standard MR gradient echo
pulse sequences used to encode motion in the frequency encoding
direction;
[0022] FIGS. 7A and 7B depict 3D gradient echo pulse sequences 700
and 710 that utilize a normal pulse sequence with motion encoding
gradients and differ from one another in that the sign of the
motion encoding gradients are positive in one-case and negative in
the other;
[0023] FIGS. 8A and 8B show positive and reverse pulse sequences
that find motion in the frequency encoding direction and are
improved with respect to FIGS. 7A and 7B;
[0024] FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate positive and reverse pulses where
the phase and frequency encoding gradients are switched in
comparison to FIGS. 8A and 8B; and
[0025] FIG. 10 is a sequence of 12 images (organized as a matrix of
4 rows of 3 images each with a legend) depicting side to side
motion (x-axis of each frame) of a plastic ball filled with water
(a test specimen); and
[0026] FIG. 11 shows 12 frames of the same vibrated specimen, a
water filled ball, showing motion up and down (y-axis of each
frame).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] There will now be shown and described two new imaging
techniques, namely, MRMA and MRMT, and their optional combination
in one system. Although these two systems can be deployed
independently, the preferred mode of operation is to integrate the
two systems into one with the strengths of one system reinforcing
areas of inherent weakness in the other. Specifically, MRMT
provides field and property estimates for separating intrinsic from
extrinsic effects in microwave absorption imaging. On the other
hand, MRMA imaging provides geometrical/anatomical data that are
useful in improving the spatial resolution of microwave
tomography.
[0028] The system also facilitates using the gradient waveforms
used for MRMA and/or MRMT imaging to encode motion in MRE imaging.
As noted above, there is some distortion introduced into the image
if the position and the motion are encoded simultaneously. However,
the amount of motion is relatively small so the distortion is also
small. Further, there is intrinsic arbitrariness in which direction
the gradients are switched on and this can be used to help isolate
the motion from other sources of phase accumulation.
[0029] FIG. 1 depicts a system 100 integrating MRMA and MRMT into
one system. The data acquisition subsystem 102 may operate at a
high frequency, for example, using signals from 300 MHz to 3 GHz
transmitted by a monopole array. Use of high frequency produces
high image resolution; however, ultra-high frequencies in excess of
3 GHz may have difficulty in penetrating the target tissue. A
microwave generator 106 produces microwave energy which is
transmitted through a clinical interface 108. The clinical
interface 108 may be a receptacle designed to present a target such
as a pendant human female breast for imaging analysis and may
operate in association with the data acquisition subsystem 102 or
an MR scanner 110. A translation stage 112 is coupled to the
clinical interface 108 to control horizontal and/or vertical
movement thereof.
[0030] A downconversion module 115 receives the modulated signals
from the clinical interface 108 and mixes them with a reference
signal from the microwave generator 106 to produce a low-frequency
signal that can be collected by the data acquisition subsystem 102.
Data collected by the data acquisition subsystem 102 are processed
by a microwave tomography image reconstruction module 116 to yield
estimates of the field and property values. A central computer 118
controls the microwave generator 106 and the translation stage
112.
[0031] In the meantime, heat-induced thermoelastic wave signals
from the 20 target are detected by the MR scanner 110 which also
optimally works in association with the clinical interface 108.
These data from the scanner 110 are processed by a microwave
absorption image reconstruction module 119. A second microwave
generator 122 produces low-power microwave signals which are
amplified by a microwave amplifier 124 and transmitted through the
clinical interface 108 to targets. A second translation stage 126
is coupled to the clinical interface 108 to control the movement of
microwave heating devices relative to the target tissue. The
central computer 118 also controls the microwave generator 122 and
the translation stage 126.
[0032] Feedback loops 130, 132 may be used to improve image
resolution by mutually supportive MRMA-MRMT. Commencing with first
estimates on the field distribution and property map are
supplemented or enhanced by actual measurements provided by the
microwave tomography image reconstruction module 116 and used to
iteratively update the microwave absorption image based on the
latest estimates through a feedback loop 130. This feedback loop
130 helps separate intrinsic and extrinsic effects on power
absorption and facilitates a more accurate calculation of the
electrical property of the target. This process of iteration is
repeated several times to obtain more accurate values of the
electrical property of the target. Secondly, the geometrical and
anatomical data generated by the microwave absorption image
reconstruction module 119 help improve the spatial resolution of
microwave tomography via feedback loop 132. Thus, the advantage of
combining MRMA and MRMT is that the strength of one imaging scheme
reinforces areas of inherent weakness in the other scheme by way of
multiple iterations via feedback loops 130 and 132.
[0033] FIG. 2 depicts one embodiment of clinical interface 108,
which is connected to data acquisition subsystem 102 and MR scanner
110, together with microwave generators 106, 122, and translation
stages 112, 126. The clinical interface 108 contains an imaging
chamber 140, coupling fluid 142, antenna array 114 and a microwave
high-power excitation source plate 128. Three-dimensional movements
of the antenna array 114 and the plate 128 are controlled by the
motion mechanisms 154, for example, in the form of stepper
motor-driven pinion gears (not shown) driving racks 170, 171 under
the control of translation stages 112 and 126 to provide a vertical
range of motion. A similar rack and pinion system (not shown) may
be used to provide horizontal motion. The top surface 144 of the
chamber 140 contains an aperture 146, through which a human breast
148 being imaged protrudes so that the breast 148 is pendant in the
coupling fluid 142. Space-occupation and MR-compatibility are two
important factors in designing and arranging components of the
clinical interface 108 because these components are to be
positioned in the limited space of the bore of the MRI machine.
[0034] Microwave heating from the microwave high-power excitation
source plate 128 can be achieved by using an embedded or surface
mounted device waveguide, a microstrip spiral or a microstrip
dipole antenna. The microstrip design is preferred because of its
relatively smaller size. The microstrip, as embedded in the en-face
"compression" (partially due to body weight) plate 128, can be
integrated with a resonant gradient system 150 and/or an RE pick-up
coil 152.
[0035] The microwave power generator 122 (see FIG. 1) coupled with
the microwave amplifier 124 having, for example, 2 kW power and
0.5-1 .mu.sec pulse width provides sufficient degrees-of-freedom to
drive the microwave illumination. Sources with higher power and
broader band can also be used, but they tend to be more expensive.
The power signal source and its associated parameters (repetition
rate and pulse width) are broadly selectable because the
thermoelastic response is not critically dependent on these
parameters. While the results using high frequency (3 GHz and 9
GHz) in Wang et al. are very impressive, lower frequencies (300-450
MHz) are preferred because they provide adequate depth penetration
without over exposing superficial tissues to microwave radiation.
Another reason for using lower frequencies is that when MRMA is
combined with MRMT, when using glycerin as the coupling fluid 142,
the use of higher frequencies above 500 MHz results in higher
electromagnetic loss to the fluid 142. Alternatively, the clinical
interface 108 may be implemented using phased arrays, such as a
4-quadrant array with independent power switching for heating
purposes to provide the advantage of partial breast illumination.
Such a design is even more preferable when MRMT is integrated with
MRMA because it enables easier separation of the field effects
which need to be normalized relative to the responses from other
portions of the breast when simultaneous illumination is not
applied.
[0036] Two predominant concerns in designing the pick-up coil 152
include maximizing signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) while minimizing
space-occupation. Phase contrast techniques that exploit motion
encoding gradients are critically dependent on obtaining the best
SNR, and proximity of the coil 152 to the breast is important for
coverage with the highest obtainable SNR. While "off-the-shelf"
breast coils that provide vastly improved SNR and more flexible
coil placement can be used, custom-designed coils such as
multi-element microstrip resonantor coil designs based on coupled
multi-transmission line theory are preferred. By way of example, a
multi-transmission line formulation of a constrained least-squares
inverse modeling approach to the Biot-Savart integral may be
utilized to position and optimize performance of the coil 152. In
its simplest form, the coil 152 may feature a capacitively
segmented dual-loop coil configuration having a radius and spacing
that can be properly adjusted to achieve maximum SNR in the fluid
coupling medium 142.
[0037] It is both convenient and effective to place the resonant
gradient coil system 150 in the en-face "compression" plate 128. To
optimize the coil system, the constrained least-squares inverse
modeling approach to the Biot-Savart integral formulation is used
to adjust the layout of the planar wire pattern so, as to achieve
the necessary field strength (up to 2 T/m) throughout the female
breast.
[0038] Because the motion caused by the microwave heating is likely
small, it is preferable to use a spin echo pulse sequence or a
stimulated echo as the MR pulse sequence system emanating from an
integrated microwave power source comprised of microwave generator
122 and microwave amplifier 124 to maximize motion encoding time.
In addition, imaging time can be reduced significantly by obtaining
higher number of imaging encodes for each motion encoding period.
It is desirable to increase both image encoding efficiency and
motion encoding time.
[0039] The frequency distribution of the thermoelastic response
contains an enormous amount of extremely valuable information
regarding the size and shape of tissue features, such as lesions.
Edge characteristics which are used to characterize masses in
mammograms, are reflected to some extent in the spectral shape of
the response. Hence, the frequency distribution of the induced
thermoelastic signature is measured by changing the synchronization
of the heating pulses during the motion sensitizing gradients so
that new pulses commence at different phases of the gradient as the
gradient progresses. This strategy increases the imaging time
because one set of image volumes is required for each pattern of
microwave synchronizations.
[0040] Increased image encoding efficiency becomes more important
in multispectral imaging applications. It is excessively
time-consuming to measure multiple motion frequencies with spin
echo pulse sequences. The pulse sequence can be improved by
multiplexing a number of encodement types obtained from each
motion-encoded signal. For example, fast spin echo, echo planar
and/or spiral scanning methods can be used to image a plurality of
motion frequencies by assigning an encodement type to a particular
frequency or frequency band. Moreover, the frequency of the
motion-encoding gradients can be changed, and the sequence of
microwave pulses can also be changed relative to the
motion-encoding gradient to alter the frequency response of the
motion.
[0041] In one embodiment, MRE system algorithms incorporate the
assumption tissue excitation by a sinusoidally varying mechanical
vibration: In the case of MRMA, the microwave generator radiates a
time-domain pulse. This pulse is transformed to the
frequency-domain via a Fourier transform and has broad spectral
content (i.e. it contains frequency components from across a wide
frequency range). Data acquisition for MRMA using a MR machine
results in the MR machine detecting information fusing a single one
of those frequencies at a time. Thus, the data the MR machine
produces for use in the reconstruction algorithm is from a single
frequency. Because this source data is also for a single sinusoidal
frequency, the source term for the MRMA algorithm is essentially
the same as that in MRE--the excitation differs. So basically,
there are no differences in the equations used.
[0042] The system 100 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) also provides for,
methods of performing microwave tomography in an MR environment.
The system elements used for MRMT include a monopole antenna array
114, the motion mechanism 154 for multi-slice imaging and the
coupling fluid 142. One predominant consideration of the system
design includes space constraint that is imposed by where the
system will reside in the intended environment of use, namely, the
bore of an MRI machine, such that the system 100 will operate
according to design parameters without interfering with the
magnetic resonance function.
[0043] FIG. 3 shows a structure of a monopole attenna element 160,
which may contain a central conductor 161 surrounded by a teflon
insulator 162, an upper exposed dielectric support section 163, and
a lower dielectric support 164. Monopole antenna performance, as
measured in terms of characteristic impedance and. radiation
patterns, can be achieved using an array that contains plurality of
monopole antenna elements 160, the elements 160 presenting a range
of differing diameters. A design parameter for achieving repeatable
performance is that each of the elements 160 have a characteristic
impedance, for example, 50 .OMEGA.. The design of monopole antenna
elements 160 may be modified to improve performance in an MR
environment by reducing the size of metallic structures, such as
central conductor 161, to reduce or eliminate MR signal artifacts.
As shown in FIG. 3, the current monopole antenna design is scaled
down to an outer diameter D of 2.2 mm, and non-metallic dielectric
materials are used in the upper dielectric support 163 and lower
dielectric support 164.
[0044] Microwave tomography of the breast is facilitated by a low
contrast (as compared with the tissue) and moderately lossy
coupling fluid 142 which enhances broadband operation of the
transceiving antenna array and diminishes surface reflections from
the breast-fluid interface that may distort image quality,
especially with respect to the resolution of internal breast
structure. The imaging chamber 140 is constructed to hold the
coupling fluid 142 into which the antenna array 114 and the
"compression" plate 128 are inserted. The coupling fluid 142 is
preferably a 70-90% glycerin solution (70-90% glycerin with 10-30%
water by volume). Glycerin mixed with water has advantageous
spectral properties that do not cause high electromagnetic loss at
high frequencies (700 MHz to 3 GHz) within the imaging chamber 140.
This low attenuation is especially useful for high frequency
broadband monopole antenna operation, and signal attenuation is
further reduced at lower frequencies below 500 MHz. The reduced
signal losses observed. through glycerin and water frequencies
below 500 MHz comprises an improvement relative to other possible
coupling fluids and is advantageous for the MRMA system.
[0045] Linear translation of the antenna array 114 may be required
for multi-slice imaging that encompasses a complete scan of breast
148. FIG. 4 provides information concerning one embodiment of a
remotely-actuated motion mechanism 154 that provides vertical
movement of the antenna array 114. The antenna array 114 is
fastened to a pair of rack gearing fixtures 170, which are
fabricated from MR-compatible materials to minimize MR imaging
artifacts. The antenna plate 172 and pinion gearing 174 may be
constructed from Plexiglas material with the pinion gearing 174
engaging the fixtures 170 to provide vertical motion. The
individual gears of pinion gearing 174 are each driven through a
flexible shaft 178, for example, a Bowden cable, that may be
rotated manually or automatically by a remotely-positioned
computer-controlled stepper motor 180. Other possible drive
mechanisms (not shown) include a belt drive that couples the pinion
gearing to stepper motor 180 or a plurality of such motors, placing
a plurality of such motor as direct drives for each gear, or a
screw drive assembly that extends and contracts with rotation of a
central screw under the control of stepper motor 180.
[0046] Returning to FIG. 2, the MRMA imaging apparatus, including
the microwave high-power excitation source plate 128 and the coil
assemblies 150 and 152, are placed in the coupling fluid 142 inside
the imaging chamber 140 for MRMT with appropriate electrical
isolation, either via passage of electrical connections 182, 184
through small sealed openings 185 in the tank or via layering of an
electrically insulating material such as thin coats of
nonconducting epoxy over microstrip signal distribution lines (not
shown). The control for the linear movement of the microwave source
plate 128 is similar to that for the antenna array 114, for
example, by substituting the microwave source plate 128 for the
monopole antenna array of FIG. 4. Based on the buoyancy property of
the breast in glycerin and the current design of incorporating the
en-face "compression" plate 128 to house the microwave heating and
MR coil subsystems, usually no more than 5-6 cm of vertical motion
V is required.
[0047] Computer 118 may be configured with program instructions to
process microwave signals from coil 152 and monopole antenna array
114. As developed originally by Kruger and later again by Wang, the
time-rate of change of the electromagnetic heating rate serves as
the source of a pressure wavefront propagating at the speed of
sound in tissue according to the classical wave equation. See
Kruger et al., "Thermoacoustic computed tomography--technical
considerations," Medical Physics, 26:1832-1837, (1999); Kruger et
al. "Thermoacoustic computed tomography--technical considerations,"
Medical Physics, 26:1832-1837, (1999); Xu et al.,
"Microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography using multi-sector
scanning," Medical Physics, 28:1958-1963, (2001); Feng D et al.,
"Microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography: reconstruction by
synthetic aperture," Medical Physics, 28:2427-2432, (2001); Xu and
Wang, "Signal processing in scanning thermoacoustic tomography in
biological tissues," Medical Physics, 28:1519-1524, (2001), all of
which are incorporated by reference to the same extent as though
repeated herein. Through a constitutive relationship between the
spatial gradient in the pressure and the mechanical displacement,
the governing partial differential equation (PDE) can be recast in
terms of mechanical wave propagation in a linearly elastic
compressible solid driven by the electromagnetic power deposition.
Hence, the image reconstruction problem is much the same as that
for mechanically actuated tissue displacements in MRE, but with a
different driving source of motion, for example, as described in
mechanical actuation context by van Houten et al. "Initial clinical
experience with steady state subzone based MR elastography of the
breast," Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, (in press) (2002)
and van Houten et al. "A Three Dimensional Subzone Based
Reconstruction. Algorithm for MR Elastography," Magnetic Resonance
in Medicine, 45:827-837, (2001), which are incorporated herein by
reference. Therefore, MRMA image reconstruction commences by
adapting the subzone technique that is implemented for MRE. More
specifically, the global mechanical interactions coupled throughout
the imaging volume are converted into a set of successive,
overlapping zonal (local) estimation problems which is
computationally far more efficient and yet yields tissue property
maps essentially at the MR vowel resolution.
[0048] Where the MRE system uses a mechanical vibration at a single
frequency. the MRMA may use a time-domain pulse that has an
infinite number of frequencies in it. In one embodiment, after the
pulse is transmitted the MR machine only collects data related to a
single frequency within that range when accumulating MRMA data;
however, a plurality of scans may be made at different frequencies
to achieve multispectral resolution. MRMA data for use in the
reconstruction algorithm may alternatively only use data from a
single frequency that is also used in the MRE system.
[0049] Extraction of a single spectral component of transient
mechanical motion through the MR phase contrast technique is
sufficient to accurately reconstruct tissue elastic properties,
provided the medium does not exhibit significant dispersion over
the spectrum of frequencies that predominate the mechanical motion.
Further, the time-rate of change of the heating electromagnetic
field is orders of magnitude higher; hence, it is in a
time-harmonic steady-state relative to the time-scale of the
induced mechanical wavefronts which are proportional to the
electromagnetic frequency multiplied by the Fourier transformed
complex-valued amplitude of the electric field. As a result, the
PDE in van Houten et al. "An overlapping subzone technique for MR
based, elastic property reconstruction," Magnetic Resonance in
Medicine, 42:779-786, (1999), which is incorporated herein by
reference, may be modified by an additional source term that is
proportional to the local time-averaged microwave power absorption
to achieve spectral extraction.
[0050] MRMA image reconstruction may be implemented by first
including the microwave absorption as an unknown source term and
estimating its spatially- dependent value as an additional
inversion parameter. This process can be implemented in several
steps. Initially, the tissue elastic properties are assumed to be
known and the driving source of mechanical motion is the only
parameter that needs to be estimated. In another embodiment,
magnetic resonance elastography data can also be collected
immediately prior to MRMA excitation which can supply the spatial
map of tissue elastic properties for use in MRMA image
reconstruction. The algorithm can be further expanded to include
mechanical property estimation. The second algorithm accepts
anatomical priors derived from the MR magnitude image volume (or
additional image acquisition sequence) using advanced tissue
segmentation and mesh generation capabilities. The estimation of
mechanical properties can be constrained to adhere to the prior
segmentation, while tissue elasticity ranges can be derived from
literature values for, fat and fibroglandular tissue. These
elasticity constraints coupled to full freedom in terms of
estimating the local power deposition make it necessary for the
algorithm to emphasize the latter during data-model minimization.
Maps of microwave absorption can thus be reconstructed based on
this algorithm. While such maps are likely informative, their
diagnostic value may be limited because the power absorption map
also encodes extrinsic factors unrelated to tissue pathology. By
way of example, any mapping technique, such as a multivariate
correlation or neural network, may be used to relate elastic
properties reconstructed directly from MRMA data to conductivity
values used by the MRMT algorithm.
[0051] To address this problem, in the absence of any MRMT data
(see below), the computational volume with tissue type segmentation
is used to compute an electric field distribution at each iteration
based on the microwave radiation and the current estimate of the
electrical property map. Initially, an electromagnetic property
distribution is assumed based on literature values coded to the
tissue-type segmentation from the subject-specific MR image volume.
This allows a 3D electric field distribution to be computed for the
microwave heating field under these property assumptions. The 3D
power absorption map can then be estimated from the MRMA data and
used with the computed field to update the electrical conductivity
distribution (the electrical permittivity will not update) and the
process is repeated during the next iteration.
[0052] With regard to MRMT, algorithms may used for 2D and 3D
microwave image reconstruction. By way of example, suitable
algorithms are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,841,288 issued to
Meaney et al., which is hereby incorporated by reference. The most
advanced of existing algorithms for microwave property
reconstruction may be improved by including priors from MRMA and/or
MRE-derived geometrical and anatomical information. These
constraints include initial property estimates tied to
pre-image-reconstruction tissue segmentation. Several approaches
can then be taken for deploying the information thus obtained.
[0053] The first order constraint simply utilizes the information
as a starting point for full parameter reconstruction but does not
impose any requirement on the property distribution that actually
evolves. The second level of constraint involves property parameter
zoning based on tissue-type segmentation. This can be accomplished
relatively easily and effectively by summing contributions over the
relevant columns of the Jacobian matrix constructed during each
property update in order to collapse regions of the mesh into zones
identified by tissue-type segmentation. These boundaries are
respected throughout the image reconstruction process. A third
level of constraint incorporates prior anatomical information and
adaptive processes respondent to the iterative property map
estimate to achieve optimal reconstruction parameter reduction and
degree-of-freedom placement (the latter being the important new
allowance relative to the 2nd level constraint). Specifically,
rather than persisting with property parameter zones defined only
by MR anatomy, rezoning based on property parameter gradients that
emerge subsequent to their initial deployment is allowed.
[0054] In the integrated form of imaging with both MRMA and MRMT,
the algorithms for MRMT are exploited to enhance the MRMA
conductivity recovery and vice versa. Specifically, the property
map recovered from the initial estimate (including any priors from
MR-derived anatomical data) is used to compute the 3D
electromagnetic field distribution due to microwave heating which
can then be incorporated with the high resolution power absorption
image reconstructed from the MRMA information to produce a new high
resolution map of electrical conductivity. The new conductivity map
is then used to drive a better MRMT image of the electrical
properties which can then be used to update the 3D field
distribution of the microwave heating that can be reapplied to the
MRMA power absorption image to further improve the conductivity
distribution (in the case of the evolving MRMT recovery, the
permittivity image as well) in an iterative fashion.
[0055] FIG. 5 illustrates an MR elastography process 200. A sample
or subject 202 is placed on a shaker 204 to vibrate the tissue. The
resulting displacements are measured using an MR scanner 206. In
the meantime, MR phase signals 208 are collected by the scanner
206. Both sets of data are processed through a reconstruction
process 210 to generate mechanical property maps and MR images
212.
Phase Distortions:
[0056] Simulations of the reconstruction of position and phase
using a standard frequency encoding gradient during motion like
that induced in MR elastography reveal that the magnitude and phase
of the reconstructed images are perturbed by the motion especially
around sharp edges but that perturbation is relatively small.
Phase Cycling:
[0057] The standard set up for MR gradient echo pulse sequences 600
consist of five functions in time as shown in FIG. 6A (without
motion encoding gradient): an RF pulse 602, a slice selection pulse
604, a frequency encoding pulse 606, a phase encoding pulse 608,
and the underlying wave 610 corresponding to the harmonic
mechanical motion of the shaker 204. Note that while the fourth
line generally refers to the phase encoding sequence, the motion
encoding gradients 612 are now included on this line (shown in FIG.
6B). Note that the motion encoding gradient can also be include in
the frequency encoding pulse 606 instead of with the phase encoding
pulse 608.
[0058] In many MR elastography measurements, the phase accumulated
by the motion is isolated from other sources of phase accumulation
by cycling the direction of the phase accumulated by the motion.
Generally, that is done by switching the sign of the motion
encoding gradient and subtracting the total phases. The phase
accumulated from the motion is thereby doubled and the other phases
are subtracted away. For example, two 3D gradient echo pulse
sequences 700 and 710 are shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. FIG. 7A shows a
central motion encoding gradient or pulse sequence 702. FIG. 7B
shows a reverse pulse sequence 704, which is the same as pulse
sequence 702 except the sign of the motion encoding gradient is
reversed. The phases of the images obtained from the first pulse
sequence may be subtracted from the phases of the images obtained
from the second pulse sequence. From the phases in the two images
acquired with the two pulse sequences, the phase accumulated from
the motion encoding gradient can be isolated from the other phases
which is sometimes called phase cycling. To find the amplitude and
relative phase of the harmonic motion, a pair of images is obtained
from the pair of pulse sequences shown for multiple phases of the
harmonic motion. Nothing is changed but the relative phase between
the motion 703 and 705 and the motion encoding gradients 702 and
704.
[0059] The same technique can be used to isolate the phase
accumulated by the frequency encoding gradients and motion from the
phase accumulated from the other gradients. The sign of the
frequency encoding gradient can be reversed. The reconstructed
image is flipped in the frequency encoding direction but that can
be eliminated in the reconstruction. The phase accumulated by the
motion in the frequency encoding direction is also reversed while
other phases remain the same. Therefore, the phase accumulated by
the frequency encoding gradient from motion in the frequency
encoding direction can be isolated from other phases by
subtraction. More generally, if enough different combinations of
the phases accumulated from motion in the three directions and
other sources of phase can be accumulated, the motion in each
direction can be determined.
[0060] The simple case is finding motion in just the frequency
encoding direction. FIGS. 8A and 8B show a pulse sequence 800 and
reverse pulse sequence 810 having the sign of the frequency
encoding gradients 804 and 814 reversed with respect to each other.
Note that 804 and 814 are the frequency encoding gradients. The
images can be combined by electronically flipping the images
obtained from the second pulse sequence in the frequency encoding
direction so the positions are aligned. Then the phase of each
pixel is subtracted and the result is the phase accumulated from
the motion in the frequency encoding direction. The echo time is
reduced substantially by removing the motion encoding gradients and
the total imaging time is also reduced. Because the signal decays
exponentially, the signal from the pulse sequences in FIGS. 8A and
B is much greater than that from FIGS. 7a and 7B. Pairs of images
must still be obtained at several relative phases between the
harmonic motion and the imaging gradients.
[0061] The directions encoded by the phase and frequency encoding
gradients can also be switched. So the motion in the other in-plane
direction can be found using the same technique. FIG. 9A shows a
pulse sequence 900 that differs from pulse sequence 800 in that the
direction of the phase and frequency gradients are switched. Note
that 904 and 914 are the phase encoding gradients. Pulse 904 is
switched in like manner with respect to pulse 804. From the phases
of the four images, it is possible to solve for the motion in all
three directions.
[0062] The phase accumulated by the frequency encoding gradient and
the harmonic motion in the x-direction in the image shown in FIG.
8A is Fx and the phase accumulated in FIG. 8(b) is -Fx, the
difference between the phases accumulated from the pair of images
is 2Fx. Similarly, the phase-accumulated by the frequency encoding
gradient and the harmonic in the y-direction as shown in FIG. 9(a)
is Fy and that accumulated in FIG. 9(b) is -Fy, then the
subtraction of the two is 2Fy. However, there is phase accumulated
in all four acquisitions from the slice selection gradient and
motion in the z-direction, Fz (not shown). That remains constant in
all four acquisitions. It is possible to flip the sign of the slice
selection gradient and subtract the two to obtain the motion in the
z-direction but it is also possible to solve for the phase
accumulated by motion in the z-direction from the other
measurements. For example, if the average of the other four
measurements were taken, Fz would add coherently and the other
phases would be removed.
Exemplary Measures:
[0063] FIG. 10 is a sequence of 12 images (organized as a matrix of
4 rows of 3 images each with a legend) depicting side to side
motion (x-axis of each frame) of a plastic ball filled with water
(a test specimen). The ball is vibrated at about 290 Hz over a
range of motion of about 30 microns. The images are 256.times.256
pixels covering a 12 cm field of view. FIG. 11 shows 12 frames of
the same vibrated specimen, a water filled ball, showing motion up
and down (y-axis of each frame). Both images are reconstructed
according to the features of the system using only a single imaging
gradient.
* * * * *