超短脉冲微波高效激发的高分辨率热声成像

微波热声成像综合了微波成像和超声成像的优点,具有很好的穿透深度及较高的图像分辨率。热声成像的激发源通常为基于脉冲调制的亚微秒级脉冲微波,激发能量密度约为几mJ/cm2,激发出的热声信号主频通常为2 MHz,成像分辨率约为500μm。随着热声成像向着临床应用方向发展,能否有效的减小辐射剂量并提高成像分辨率,是热声成像系统设计成败的一个关键因素。为了有效改善微波热声成像中热损伤及分辨率,设计开发了超短脉冲微波热声成像系统,实验结果表明该系统提高了热声转化效率约两个数量级,成像分辨率达到105μm,为热声成像的临床应用铺平了道路。     

三维微波热声成像系统及早期乳腺肿瘤检测研究

本文讨论了正常乳房组织与肿瘤组织的微波吸收差异,从理论上证明了利用微波热声成像技术检测乳腺肿瘤的可能性;建立了一套三维热声扫描系统,并利用此系统对模拟肿瘤和真实离体肿瘤进行成像实验。实验结果表明,三维微波热声成像系统能对乳腺肿瘤高分辨率高对比度成像,有希望应用于早期乳腺肿瘤检测。     

微波热声成像技术用于人体甲状腺检测

本文首次通过人体实验验证了微波热声成像技术用于人体甲状腺检测的可行性.文章首先讨论了该技术用于人体甲状腺检测的可行性;然后对3名志愿者的健康甲状腺进行了微波热声成像实验.结果表明:微波热声成像能够对人体健康甲状腺进行清晰成像,能够真实反映皮肤、甲状腺和气管等不同组织的结构特征;并且一次完整的检测过程时间约5 s,系统操作简单成像快速.综上所述,微波热声成像技术有望为甲状腺疾病的基础研究和临床诊断提供一种新的影像学参考.     

热声、光声双模态早期乳腺肿瘤成像系统

本文提出一种热声、光声双模态乳腺肿瘤检测成像系统。本装置中,脉冲微波和脉冲激光分别为热声、光声激发源,产生的热声、光声信号被同一个超声探测器、同一套数据采集装置接收,用同一种成像算法重建出图像。该系统可同时获取多种互补的诊断参数,提高检测早期乳腺肿瘤的准确率。     

基于微波热声成像的植物叶片水分含量分布无损检测技术研究

目的 植物叶片水分含量分布是衡量植物生理生化的重要指标,该指标也是农业科学领域中制定抗旱策略的重要依据。微波成像对水分含量分布和变化具有高对比度,超声成像对水分含量分布具有高分辨率。据此,本文提出兼具微波和超声成像优势的无损微波热声成像（thermoacoustic imaging,TAI）技术,并用此技术开展了植物叶片水分含量分布的无损检测研究,进行植物叶片水分含量分布的检测,对于实现精准灌溉、发展节水农业、提高水资源利用率有重要意义。方法 本文构建了激发频率3.0 GHz、横向分辨率406μm的二维透射式TAI系统。基于主动加热技术（150℃热风,90 s）,模拟3组曼陀罗叶片水分流失过程,对其TAI图像进行定量分析。结果 加热导致叶片局部水分流失,微波热声信号降低（信号最大变化量为10%）,验证了基于TAI技术实现植物叶片水分含量变化无损检测的可行性。实现了曼陀罗、野茼蒿和紫苏叶片水分含量分布的无损检测,检测结果与核磁共振成像吻合。结论 本研究有助于实现精准灌溉,为植物在正常和胁迫环境下对环境的响应特性研究提供技术支撑。尤其是与非接触超声检测技术相结合,可以实现植物叶片水分含量的遥感成像,更具实用价值。     

基于阵列式换能器的光声成像系统的实现

目的:本文设计了一套光声成像(photoacoustic imaging,PAI)系统,由脉冲激光、阵列换能器、临床超声(ultrasound,US)主机、软件平台以及成像样品组成。系统的图像质量、最大成像深度等重要参数需通过实验进行确定。方法:使用本系统对黑色头发丝横截面进行成像,比较、分析光声(photoacoustic,PA)信号幅值的半极大处全宽度以量化图像分辨率。此外,使用系统对特定的光吸收体和鸡胸肉组织进行成像,确定系统的成像深度。结果:实验结果证明了PAI系统的实现,其PA图像的平均轴向和横向分辨率分别约为0.18 mm和1.44mm,系统的最大成像深度达到4.6 cm。结论:本PAI系统PA图像分辨率优于US主机获得的US图像分辨率,系统最大成像深度与其他国际研究组的系统成像深度的数量级一致。通过进一步优化与活体组织实验的开展,本PAI系统将有望实现临床成像诊断。     

热声成像技术及其在生物医学中的研究进展

摘要：成像技术在疾病的诊断、治疗和监测中起着重要的作用。热声成像作为一种非电离和非侵入性的新型生物医学成像技术,结合了微波成像高对比度和超声成像高分辨率的优点。因其具有利用内源性对比剂（如水和离子）或多种外源性对比剂（或两者兼有）提供结构、功能、和分子信息的能力,在预临床和临床应用中显示出了巨大的潜力。近几十年来,由于微波辐射源和超声硬件的不断发展,热声成像技术已被广泛用于生物医学成像领域。本文阐述了热声成像的基本原理及成像特点,介绍了近年来热声成像技术在生物医学上的应用、当前在解决相应临床问题应用中的优势及研究现状,最后针对热声成像技术在现有生物医学中面临的挑战对该技术进行了展望。     

快速微波热声层析成像在生物医学中的潜在应用

介绍了一种快速热声层析成像方法和装置,成功实现了生物组织的二维热声层析成像及异物检测.实验中采用频率为1.2 GHz的脉冲微波作为激发源,中心频率为3.5 MHz的320振元线性阵列探测器接收热声信号,然后用有限场滤波反投影方法重建得到热声层析图像.与原有方法相比,勿需全方位扫描采集数据,能大量节省时间,重建图像的对比度和抗噪声能力有极大提高.该方法和系统有望应用于乳腺癌早期检测、体内异物检测、微波热疗效果监测等方面.     

光学相干层析分子成像方法初探

介绍了分子对比剂在光学相干层析成像(optical coherence tom ography,OCT)技术中的研究现状,概述了迄今出现的几种不同的光学相干层析分子成像方法(m olecu lar contrast OCT,简称为MCOCT),讨论了MCOCT的几个重要的实际问题:对比剂的选择范围、激发光强的限制、各种方法灵敏度比较以及MCOCT应用于临床与生物学领域需要考虑的因素。     

针孔参数优化对激光扫描共聚焦显微镜荧光成像的影响

激光扫描共聚焦显微镜（LSCM）是一种高分辨率的光学成像仪器,它利用“共轭成像”原理,获得的图片质量远超于普通荧光显微镜。LSCM有两组功能不同的针孔,即照明针孔和探测针孔,这是实现“共轭成像”的关键。由于照明针孔的大小和位置一般是固定的,LSCM主要通过调节探测针孔的大小来获得高质量的成像图片。然而,很多使用者对于LSCM中针孔大小与荧光成像质量的关联缺乏了解。因此,本文阐述了针孔在LSCM中的作用原理及其与显微镜分辨率的关系,并通过小鼠脊髓腹侧白质中的免疫荧光成像分析,发现针孔参数优化对提高LSCM荧光成像质量具有显著影响。这一发现将为LSCM成像分析提供重要参考。     

高强度聚焦超声可治疗区域的仿真研究

数值仿真不同治疗参数条件下高强度聚焦超声(high intensity focused ultrasound,HIFU)可治疗区域的变化,对HIFU治疗剂量的确定具有重要的指导意义。本文采用Westervelt方程的近似式,结合Pennes生物热传导方程,以离体猪肝组织为例,在考虑组织声学特性对HIFU焦域温度场影响的条件下,通过时域有限差分法(finite difference time domain,FDTD)对HIFU焦域温度场进行仿真研究。研究结果表明,照射时间越长,组织声学特性的影响就越明显;焦点处的最高温升相同时,可治疗区域的大小差异较小;声强越大,形成可治疗区域所需的时间也越短;当声强一定时,随着照射时间的增加,可治疗区域的长、短轴长度均呈非线性增加;在相同可治疗区域的长轴或短轴长度一定时,输入声强和照射时间呈负相关。     

光学相干层析成像技术在内窥镜中的应用

光学相干层析成像(optical coherence tomography,OCT)技术是继X射线成像、核磁共振成像、超声成像等之后的一种新型的成像技术,其可光纤化的特点使得它易于医用电子内窥镜相结合。OCT内窥镜技术可实现对人体内部器官的高速率、高分辨率、无损伤、实时成像。主要介绍了OCT技术的种类、基本原理以及包括探测深度和纵向分辨率等的参数;简述了OCT内窥镜的发展历史以及最新成果,重点分析了光源对OCT内窥镜的影响。总结了OCT内窥镜的主要应用。     

Human Brown Adipose Tissue Depots Automatically Segmented by Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography and Registered Magnetic Resonance Images

Reliably differentiating brown adipose tissue (BAT) from other tissues using a non-invasive imaging method is an important step toward studying BAT in humans. Detecting BAT is typically confirmed by the uptake of the injected radioactive tracer ¹⁸F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) into adipose tissue depots, as measured by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET-CT) scans after exposing the subject to cold stimulus. Fat-water separated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has the ability to distinguish BAT without the use of a radioactive tracer. To date, MRI of BAT in adult humans has not been co-registered with cold-activated PET-CT. Therefore, this protocol uses ¹⁸F-FDG PET-CT scans to automatically generate a BAT mask, which is then applied to co-registered MRI scans of the same subject. This approach enables measurement of quantitative MRI properties of BAT without manual segmentation. BAT masks are created from two PET-CT scans: after exposure for 2 hr to either thermoneutral (TN) (24 °C) or cold-activated (CA) (17 °C) conditions. The TN and CA PET-CT scans are registered, and the PET standardized uptake and CT Hounsfield values are used to create a mask containing only BAT. CA and TN MRI scans are also acquired on the same subject and registered to the PET-CT scans in order to establish quantitative MRI properties within the automatically defined BAT mask. An advantage of this approach is that the segmentation is completely automated and is based on widely accepted methods for identification of activated BAT (PET-CT). The quantitative MRI properties of BAT established using this protocol can serve as the basis for an MRI-only BAT examination that avoids the radiation associated with PET-CT.     

Quantitative 3-D imaging of eukaryotic cells using soft X-ray tomography

Imaging has long been one of the principal techniques used in biological and biomedical research. Indeed, the field of cell biology grew out of the first electron microscopy images of organelles in a cell. Since this landmark event, much work has been carried out to image and classify the organelles in eukaryotic cells using electron microscopy. Fluorescently labeled organelles can now be tracked in live cells, and recently, powerful light microscope techniques have pushed the limit of optical resolution to image single molecules. In this paper, we describe the use of soft X-ray tomography, a new tool for quantitative imaging of organelle structure and distribution in whole, fully hydrated eukaryotic Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells. In addition to imaging intact cells, soft X-ray tomography has the advantage of not requiring the use of any staining or fixation protocols—cells are simply transferred from their growth environment to a sample holder and immediately cryofixed. In this way the cells can be imaged in a near native state. Soft X-ray tomography is also capable of imaging relatively large numbers of cells in a short period of time, and is therefore a technique that has the potential to produce information on organelle morphology from statistically significant numbers of cells.     

聚焦超声辐射高血脂大鼠涌泉穴对血脂水平的影响

目的研究聚焦超声辐射涌泉穴对血脂的影响.方法采用高脂饲料喂养建立高血脂大鼠模型,通过聚焦超声辐射高血脂模型大鼠涌泉穴,测定大鼠血清总胆固醇(tota cholesterol, TC)、甘油三脂 (triacylglycerol, TG)、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇(high density lipoprotein, HDL-c)和低密度脂蛋白胆固醇(low density lipoprotein, LDL-c)等指标.结果检测血清TC、TG、HDL-C、LDL-C水平,聚焦超声辐照涌泉穴可明显降低高血脂模型大鼠血清TC、TG(P＜0.05),而超声治疗组和针刺组无明显差异.结论聚焦超声辐射高血脂大鼠的涌泉穴位,可明显降低TC、TG,有调节血脂的作用.     

图形处理器在实时光学相干断层成像中的应用

光学相干断层成像(optical coherence tomography,OCT)技术在成像过程中具有极大的数据量和计算量,传统的基于中央处理器(central processing unit,CPU)的计算平台难以满足OCT实时成像的需求。图形处理器(graphics processing unit,GPU)在通用计算方面具有强大的并行处理能力和数值计算能力,可以突破OCT实时成像的瓶颈。本文对GPU做了简要介绍并阐述了GPU在OCT实时成像及功能成像中的应用及研究进展。     

Quantitative evaluation of internal marks made using MRgFUS as seen on MRI,CT, US,and digital color images – A pilot study

This pilot study compared the detectability of internal thermal marks produced with MRI-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) on MRI, computed tomography (CT), ultrasonography (US), and color images from digital scanning. Internal marks made using MRgFUS could potentially guide surgical, biopsy or radiotherapy procedures. New Zealand White rabbits (n = 6) thigh muscle were marked using a Philips MRgFUS system. Before and after sonications, rabbits were imaged using T₁- and T₂-weighted MRI. Then rabbits were sacrificed and imaging was performed using CT and US. After surgical excision specimens were scanned for color conspicuity analysis. Images were read by a radiologist and quantitative analysis of signal intensity was calculated for marks and normal muscle. Of a total of 19 excised marks, approximately 79%, 63%, and 62% were visible on MRI, CT, and US, respectively. The average maximum temperature elevation in the marks during MRgFUS was 39.7 ± 10.1 °C, and average dose diameter (i.e., the diameter of the area that achieved a thermal dose greater than 240 cumulative equivalent minutes at 43 °C) of the mark at the focal plane was 7.3 ± 2.1 mm. On MRI the average normalized signal intensities were significantly higher in marks compared to normal muscle (p < 0.05). On CT, the marked regions were approximately 10 HU lower than normal muscle (p < 0.05). The results demonstrate that MRgFUS can be used to create internal marks that are visible on MRI, CT and US.