Fused QT Ultrasound 3-D quantitative transmission ultrasound and compounded reflection axial images showing high resolution image of internal organs, tissue, skin and hair of neo-natal piglet. Anatomy courtesy of C. Ruoff, DVM.
May 29, 2019 — QT Ultrasound recently showcased its advanced ultrasound technology at the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) 177th meeting, May 13-17 in Louisville, Ky.
In a special conference session, “Inverse problems in Biomedical Ultrasound I,” James Wiskin, Ph.D., principal scientist presented on "Full Wave 3D Transmission Tomography: 21st Century Technology for Whole Body Imaging." Word has spread in the ultrasound community that QT Ultrasound's clinical and research team have made strides in orthopedic and whole-body imaging, according to the company. In support of those developments, the presentation showed quantitative accuracy of tissue parameters in the presence of bone and air (validated against literature values), previously thought to have been impossible. Further evidence showed the ability of quantitative transmission ultrasound (QTU) to image regions which do not show up in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Fusion with registered speckle-free compounded reflection images leads to novel biomarkers for tissue and concomitant segmentation/classification algorithms. This and the lack of ionizing radiation and contrast agents point towards QTU as a viable technology for whole body, breast and orthopedic imaging.
Wiskin's lecture discussed the clinical value of 3-D quantitative tissue characterization, and how whole body and orthopedic images are constructed using inherently 3-D reconstruction algorithms and 3-D data. Wiskin noted, "I believe the clinical importance of 3-D transmission ultrasound is understood by the ASA, which is the reason they sought out this presentation for their annual conference. It's an honor to share our research findings and developments with scientists and engineers that are at the forefront of medical ultrasound research."
QT Ultrasound's technology has already received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance for breast imaging, for which the company's research has demonstrated a higher degree of accuracy than mammography or handheld ultrasound at identifying certain breast structures, and that it produces image contrast comparable to a typical MRI.
For more information: www.qtultrasound.com