Breast Cancer: Improved Ultrasound Method | Nachrichten.at

Ultrasound is probably the most gentle way to examine organs and tissues. However, the quality of the picture is not very good. In particular, many tumors remain invisible. A new procedure performed by a research team at ETH Zurich could improve the future of ultrasound cancer diagnosis: instead of the loudness, it measures the speed of sound.

The organs and tissues have a different density and therefore reflect the ultrasound waves differently. However, the velocity of reflected sound waves also depends on the strength of the tissue being examined. And because tumors are firmer than surrounding healthy tissues, ultrasound moves faster in the ulcer: 3% faster due to malignant tumors and about 1.5% due to benign tumors.

"Unlike clbadical ultrasounds, our images are much easier to interpret," says Orçun Göksel, a researcher at ETH Zurich. The researchers say they want to facilitate physician decision-making during routine examinations and avoid unnecessary biopsies. They have already presented their method in several specialized articles, most recently in the journal "Physics in Medicine and Biology".

The innovation lies mainly in the processing of data, so that existing ultrasound devices can easily be upgraded with the help of software, said Orçun Göksel. "Doctors who would like to test our procedure could do it today," says the ETH researcher. Unfortunately, it will still take a few years before patients benefit from it on a daily basis.

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