P3D-3 Strain Image Contrast for Differentiating In Vivo Breast Lesions

We are objectively investigating lesion contrast with ultrasound strain imaging of in vivo solid breast lesions. Tissue deformation is performed during real-time strain imaging. A modified block matching algorithm is used to estimate the displacement between frames of radiofrequency (RF) echo data and the gradient of the displacements are computed to form strain images. Displacement estimates from strain image formation are used to compensate for motion, lesion segmentation is performed on each stationary strain image, and strain image contrast is calculated as a function of accumulated strain. Strain image contrast of fibroadenomas are compared to strain image contrast of invasive ductal carcinomas to determine if strain image contrast can aide in distinguishing between most common benign and malignant solid breast lesions