Apparatus for acquiring ultrasound scans of a breast

摘要

An adjunctive ultrasound mammography system and associated methods are described, comprising a scanning apparatus facilitating standardized, repeatable breast ultrasound scans, and an adjunctive ultrasound display apparatus configured for fast, intuitive viewing of adjunctive ultrasound data concurrently with x-ray mammogram information. Thick-slice ultrasound images are displayed near x-ray mammogram images for assistance in interpreting the x-ray mammogram images. Concurrent acquisition and display of vibrational resonance image (VDI) data is described. Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) algorithms incorporation acoustically-based feature vectors are described. Easy navigation among thick-slice image arrays, enlarged thick-slice images, and planar ultrasound views is described. Thick-slice images inverted prior to display are described. Algorithms for computing thick-slice images from volumetric scan data are described including feature enhancement algorithms, solutions for border-straddling lesions, and neighborhood-dependent integration algorithms for feature emphasis. Overlaying of thick-slice ultrasound images with x-ray mammogram images for facilitating comprehension of breast structures and detecting abnormalities is described.