Madison Peterson, Utah Valley University
Life Sciences
High-frequency (HF) ultrasound in the 20-80 MHz range has recently been found to be sensitive to pathology in tissue margins from breast cancer surgery. In order to improve the resolution and sensitivity of this method, however, transducers need to be employed that have piezoelectric elements that are smaller than those currently in use. The purpose of this study was to determine if small element transducers (Blatek pachyometer, 50 MHz, element diameter < 2 mm) produce similar results as those obtained from large element immersion transducers (Olympus NDT, V358-SU, 50 MHz, 6.35-mm diameter active element). Ultrasonic tests were performed on 10 phantom breast samples made of Knox gelatin base and soluble fiber (Metamucil), five of which contained chopped nylon fibers and five which contained polyethylene microspheres. Pulse-echo and through transmission measurements using a HF square-wave pulser/receiver (UTEX, UT340) and a digital storage oscilloscope (Agilent, DSOX3104A, 1 GHz, 4 analog channels) were acquired from a total of 3 sites per phantom in triplicate, first testing all specimens with the large transducers then again with the small transducers. Specimens were marked with India ink for location and accuracy of testing. The density of peaks in the ultrasonic spectra of the small transducers paralleled those of large transducers. Results from HF ultrasonic measurements of phantom breast tissue obtained from small transducers compared to the large transducers indicate that they produce statistically comparable peak densities. In breast conservations surgery it is crucial to excise all cancerous tissue to prevent recurrence. This method could provide in vivo cancer detections in margins and allow for more precise excision of tumors and cancerous tissue preventing the need for subsequent surgeries and thus, less risk, reduced pain and suffering, lower costs and better outcomes for breast cancer patients.