KR20140059466A - Apparatus for photoacoustic scanning for diagnosis of breast cancer - Google Patents

Abstract

A photoacoustic scanning apparatus for a diagnosis of breast cancer according to the present invention may include a plate for a diagnosis of breast cancer which horizontally protrudes from the front surface of a main body and allows a patient to place her breast on, a laser positioning part which controls the position and posture of a laser collimator which emits a laser pulse toward breast tissue in the lower part of the plate for a diagnosis of breast, and a probe position synchronization part which controls the position or posture of an ultrasound probe which receives ultrasound generated in the breast tissue by the laser pulse.

Description

[0001] APPARATUS FOR PHOTOACOUSTIC SCANNING FOR DIAGNOSIS OF BREAST CANCER [0002]

The present invention relates to a breast cancer diagnostic technique, and more particularly, to a breast cancer diagnostic technique using a photoacoustic scanning technique.

Early diagnosis of breast cancer is important in reducing mortality and reducing medical costs, since breast cancer is a fatal disease that is common in women.

Breast ultrasound, Breast MRI, mammography, mammography, X-ray, and mammography are the most simple and basic methods for the diagnosis of breast cancer including breast cancer. And angiography.

In general, conventional mammography can be read with an accuracy of about 90%, but 10% false positive diagnosis leads to unnecessary additional tests, over treatment and costs, unnecessary radiation exposure, and other psychological burdens. .

Breast ultrasound can distinguish a breast mass from a cystic mass or a solid mass and is essential for the biopsy of a non-aspirated mass that can not be detected by a mastopexy. However, it is difficult to detect microcalcifications or small-sized breast cancer tissues. If the patient is not skilled in ultrasound imaging with limited field of vision and low resolution, a small cell or small cell tumor that is difficult to distinguish from cancer tissue is often found and requires additional testing and cost , There is a disadvantage that psychological anxiety is felt until the result of the additional test is revealed.

Breast MRI has high sensitivity and accuracy and no risk of radiation exposure, but it is expensive and costly to test because it is too expensive for preliminary screening.

Other X-ray imaging methods have disadvantages such as difficulty in examining the soft tissue, administration of a contrast agent, and poor precision in the case of dense breast.

Accordingly, non-invasive, more mechanical, automated and accurate diagnostic methods for breast cancer have been required.

The photoacoustic effect is the first known physical phenomenon in 1880. The photoacoustic analysis technique is based on the local temperature rise and thermal expansion induced in the tissue absorbing the energy of the irradiated laser pulse, It can be summarized as a nondestructive inspection technique which utilizes the photoacoustic effect that is generated and diagnoses the tissue by imaging the arrival of the formed sound wave with various delay paths to the surface of the tissue.

The frequency and intensity of a sound wave can vary depending on what frequency and intensity light is irradiated and how the material contains the material. Therefore, the photoacoustic analysis technique and the photoacoustic analysis image through it can be used to measure the constitution of the substance and its concentration in the tissue.

The photoacoustic analysis technique can obtain both high spatial resolution and high contrast, and it can image oxygen saturation and hemoglobin concentration using hemoglobin absorption property of near infrared ray radiation. Since the blood vessels are concentrated, cancer tissues can be diagnosed with oxygen consumption and distribution of blood vessels. Thus, it has potential utility to overcome the disadvantages of ultrasound diagnostic technology, which can not distinguish a tissue such as anchors from a cancerous tissue.

However, the conventional photoacoustic analysis systems require a new type of probe and a signal processing system because the transmission axis of the optical signal and the reception axis of the generated ultrasonic signal do not match each other, so that commercialization and distance are far away.

In addition, laser irradiation for photoacoustic analysis could not be penetrated into the tissue to a sufficient depth, so that it was necessary to press the chest toward the body to image it.

A problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a photoacoustic scanning apparatus for diagnosing breast cancer which can be operated even if it is not a skilled expert, and can provide accurate diagnosis with low manufacturing cost.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photoacoustic scanning apparatus for diagnosing breast cancer,

A breast diagnostic plate protruding horizontally from the front of the body to allow the patient to place the breast;

A laser positioning unit for adjusting the position or posture of the laser collimator that emits laser pulses from the lower portion of the breast diagnostic plate toward the breast tissue; And

And a probe position synchronizing unit for synchronizing the position or posture of the ultrasonic probe for receiving ultrasonic waves generated in the breast tissue by the laser pulse in synchronization with the position or posture of the laser collimator.

According to one embodiment, the breast diagnostic plate may be transmissive to laser pulses emitted from the laser collimator.

According to one embodiment, the breast diagnostic plate may be absorbent or transmissive to ultrasound generated in the breast tissue.

According to one embodiment, the laser positioning unit

A first actuator for mounting the laser collimator on one side and driving the first collimator in a first direction, and a second actuator for driving the first actuator in a direction perpendicular to the first direction.

According to one embodiment, the laser positioning unit

And may be embodied as a robot arm having the laser collimator attached to its end and having at least two degrees of freedom.

According to one embodiment, the ultrasonic probe operates in one of a photoacoustic receiving mode and an ultrasonic imaging mode. In the photoacoustic receiving mode, the ultrasonic probe receives ultrasonic signals generated in tissue by a laser pulse of the laser collimator, , It is operable to transmit ultrasonic waves and to receive reflected ultrasonic waves reflected from the tissue.

According to one embodiment, the probe position synchronizer may be operable to bring the ultrasonic probe into close contact with the skin of the breast placed on the breast diagnostic plate.

According to one embodiment, the photoacoustic scanning device for diagnosing breast cancer comprises:

And a laser generator for generating a tunable laser pulse and providing the generated laser pulse to the laser collimator.

According to one embodiment, the photoacoustic scanning device for diagnosing breast cancer comprises:

And an ultrasound signal processing unit for analyzing the ultrasound signals received by the ultrasound probe and performing two-dimensional or three-dimensional imaging.

According to one embodiment, the ultrasound signal processing unit may operate in one of a photoacoustic receiving mode and an ultrasound imaging mode. In the photoacoustic receiving mode, ultrasound signals generated in tissue by the laser pulse of the laser collimator are processed and analyzed And in the ultrasound imaging mode, emit ultrasound and operate to process and analyze reflected ultrasound reflected from the tissue.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the ultrasound signal processing unit may operate to generate a two-dimensional or three-dimensional fusion image by combining a first image analyzed in the photoacoustic receiving mode and a second image analyzed in the ultrasound imaging mode.

According to one embodiment, the photoacoustic scanning device for diagnosing breast cancer comprises:

And a diagnostic control unit for controlling the position and orientation of the laser collimator and the characteristics of the emitted laser according to an operation of an operator or according to a pre-stored profile.

According to the photoacoustic scanning apparatus for diagnosing breast cancer of the present invention, it is possible to form a photoacoustic analysis image by making full use of the established ultrasonic probe technology, the ultrasonic signal processing technique and the ultrasonic diagnostic infra.

Further, according to the photoacoustic scanning apparatus for diagnosing breast cancer of the present invention, it is possible to operate to scan in accordance with a predetermined program even if it is not a skilled expert.

Further, according to the photoacoustic scanning apparatus for diagnosing breast cancer of the present invention, it is possible to obtain a sophisticated image of blood vessels and soft tissues in the breast, so that the reading expert can more accurately diagnose the presence or absence of cancer tissue in the breast.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating mechanical driving of a photoacoustic scanning apparatus for diagnosing breast cancer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical structure of a photoacoustic scanning apparatus for diagnosing breast cancer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

For the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein, specific structural and functional descriptions are set forth for the purpose of describing an embodiment of the invention only, and it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention may be practiced in various forms, The present invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described in Figs.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals are used for the same constituent elements in the drawings and redundant explanations for the same constituent elements are omitted.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual view illustrating a mechanical driving of a photoacoustic scanning apparatus for diagnosing breast cancer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating the electrical structure of the photoacoustic scanning apparatus for breast cancer diagnosis according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a side view of a photoacoustic scanning apparatus 10 for breast cancer diagnosis includes a main body 11, a breast diagnostic plate 12, a laser collimator 13, a laser positioning unit (laser) positioner 14, an ultrasonic probe 15, a probe position synchronizing unit 16, a laser generating unit 17, an ultrasonic signal processing unit 18, and a diagnosis control unit 19.

The main body 11 mechanically supports the breast diagnostic plate 12, the laser positioning unit 14 and the probe position synchronizing unit 16 and controls the laser generating unit 17 and the ultrasonic signal processing unit 18, ), A space for installing a display or a user interface is provided, and power for driving each component can be supplied.

The breast diagnostic plate 12 protrudes horizontally on the front face of the main body 11 and may have a plate shape in which the patient is an entire plate so that the patient can place the diagnostic part, that is, the breast, or the upper surface is appropriately curved. The lower surface of the breast diagnostic plate 12 may, but need not necessarily, be in the form of a plate to facilitate variable positioning of the laser collimator 13.

The breast diagnostic plate 12 may have a light transmittance capable of passing the laser beam of the band emitted from the laser collimator 13 located at the bottom without substantial energy loss. According to an embodiment, the breast diagnostic plate 12 may partially absorb the laser energy emitted by the laser collimator 13, but may at least partially represent the photoacoustic effect in a band outside the ultrasound band that the ultrasonic probe 15 receives. The possibility that the photoacoustic wave generated by the breast diagnostic plate 12 itself affects the photoacoustic analysis can be minimized.

Depending on the embodiment, the breast diagnostic plate 12 may have sonic permeability to ultrasound, or sonic absorbency.

In this case, the breast diagnostic plate 12 allows ultrasound generated in the tissue to pass through the breast diagnostic plate 12 (not shown) without causing the ultrasonic probe 15 to propagate, It is possible to minimize the possibility of reflection and affecting photoacoustic analysis.

The laser collimator 13 can serve as a collimator, that is, a collimator, capable of irradiating a laser to a desired region of the tissue to be diagnosed.

According to the embodiment, the laser collimator 13 is provided outside of the tube 13, for example, in a manner such that the laser beam emitted from the laser generator 17 and transmitted through the optical cable 131 is emitted in a desired direction and beam shape, , A guide, a lens, a filter, or the like.

On the other hand, the position, orientation or attitude (i.e., position) of the laser collimator 13 under the breast diagnostic plate 12 must be variable according to the operation of the operator or a program designated in advance.

To this end, the laser positioning unit 14 may provide two-dimensional mobility to the laser collimator 13 on a two-dimensional plane under the breast diagnostic plate 12. [ For example, the laser positioning unit 14 includes a first actuator 141 mounted on one side with a laser collimator 13 and moving in a direction perpendicular to the paper plane of Fig. 1, a first actuator 141 mounted on the main body 11, Dimensional motion with the second actuator 142 that drives the first actuator 141 in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the first actuator 141.

In another embodiment, the laser positioning portion 14 may be embodied as a robotic arm, for example, with two degrees of freedom. In this case, the robot arm-type laser positioning unit 14 may be embodied such that the main body 11 has a pivot and can be extended or contracted in the radial direction, or the main body 11 has a pivot shaft It can be realized in a form capable of yawing at joints between two fixed arms.

Further, the laser positioning unit 14 may adjust not only the two-dimensional position of the laser collimator 13, but also the collimating direction of the laser collimator 13. [ In this case, the laser positioning unit 14 can control the collimating direction of the laser collimator 13 by adjusting, for example, a roll and a pitch at a portion where the laser collimator 13 is coupled.

When the laser collimator 13 appropriately positioned at the lower portion of the breast diagnostic plate 12 emits a laser pulse by the laser positioning unit 14, the energy of the laser pulse is absorbed into the tissue to be diagnosed, Signals are generated.

The position and orientation of the ultrasonic probe 15 can be controlled by the probe position synchronizing unit 16 so that ultrasonic signals of the tissue to be diagnosed by the laser pulse of the laser collimator 13 can be received. For example, the ultrasonic probe 15 can be controlled so that the position and posture coincide with the collimation direction of the laser collimator 13. [

According to the embodiment, the ultrasonic probe 15 may be implemented as an ultrasonic transducer capable of performing not only ultrasonic reception but also ultrasonic transmission.

In this embodiment, the ultrasonic probe 15 can operate in one of a photoacoustic receiving mode and an ultrasonic imaging mode. In the photoacoustic receiving mode, the ultrasonic probe 15 receives the ultrasonic signals generated in the tissue to be diagnosed by the laser pulse of the laser collimator 13. [ In the ultrasonic imaging mode, the ultrasonic probe 15 can transmit ultrasonic waves and receive reflected ultrasonic waves reflected from the tissue.

The probe position synchronization unit 16 is coupled to the ultrasonic probe 15 to synchronize the two-dimensional position or attitude of the laser collimator 13 to change the two-dimensional position or posture of the ultrasonic probe 15.

For example, assuming that the laser collimator 13 slowly moves left to right while emitting laser pulses in the vertical direction on the lower surface of the breast diagnostic plate 12, the probe position synchronizing unit 16 synchronizes the ultrasonic probe 15 with the ultrasonic probe 15, Dimensional image of the ultrasonic probe 15 using two actuators 161 and 162 so as to be suitable for receiving the ultrasonic signals generated in the tissue to be diagnosed by the laser pulse of the laser collimator 13. [ The position or posture can be changed.

Further, the probe position synchronizing unit 16 may be configured to synchronize the probe position with the ultrasonic probe 15 so that the ultrasonic probe 15 can maintain contact with the skin of the patient's breast placed on the breast diagnostic plate 12 in a two- Alternatively, the ultrasonic probe 15 may be brought into close contact with the patient's breast by using a separate actuator 163.

The laser generating section 17 is a constituent element that can be selectively included, for example, can generate a wavelength tunable laser pulse and provide it to the laser collimator 13. [

The wavelength of the laser light source for cancer tissue diagnosis needs to be selected so as to maximize the intensity of the acoustic signal generated in the tissue due to the photoacoustic effect. The wavelength of the laser light source for cancer tissue diagnosis can be selected to be the wavelength at which the acoustic signal becomes maximum by changing continuously within the range of, for example, about ± 100 nm in the vicinity of the 700 nm band.

The laser generating unit 17 may be an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) laser light source or a Fabry-Perot Tunable Filter which can vary the center wavelength of the laser with a pulse width of several nsec, for example, And a wavelength variable optical fiber laser light source using a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA), a tunable laser pulse can be generated.

The ultrasound signal processor 18 processes the ultrasound signals received from the ultrasound probe 15 in a time of flight (TOF) time until the ultrasound signal reaches the surface of the living tissue, And can be analyzed in two or three dimensions.

According to the embodiment, the ultrasound signal processing unit 18 may perform appropriate preprocessing such as filtering and noise removal prior to analyzing the ultrasound signal.

According to an embodiment, the ultrasound signal processing unit 18 may operate in either a photoacoustic receiving mode or an ultrasound imaging mode. In the photoacoustic reception mode, the ultrasonic signal processing unit 18 can process and analyze the ultrasonic signals generated in the tissue to be diagnosed by the laser pulse of the laser collimator 13. In the ultrasound imaging mode, the ultrasound signal processing unit 18 can transmit ultrasound and process and analyze reflected ultrasound waves reflected from the tissue.

In this case, the ultrasound signal processing unit 18 may generate a two-dimensional or three-dimensional fusion image by combining the first image analyzed in the photoacoustic receiving mode and the second image analyzed in the ultrasound imaging mode.

The diagnosis control unit 19 controls the two-dimensional position and posture of the laser collimator 13 and the characteristics of the emitted laser according to the operation of the operator or according to a pre-stored profile, and further controls the laser positioning unit 14 and the laser- (17) can be controlled.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, Modification is possible. Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should be understood only in accordance with the following claims, and all of the equivalent or equivalent variations will fall within the scope of the present invention.

10 Photoacoustic scanning device for breast cancer diagnosis
11 Body 12 Breast diagnostic plate
13 Laser collimator 14 Laser positioning unit
15 ultrasonic probe 16 probe position synchronization unit
17 laser generating unit 18 ultrasonic signal processing unit
19 diagnosis control unit

Claims (12)

A breast diagnostic plate protruding horizontally from the front of the body to allow the patient to place the breast;
A laser positioning unit for adjusting the position or posture of the laser collimator that emits laser pulses from the lower portion of the breast diagnostic plate toward the breast tissue; And
And a probe position synchronizing unit for synchronizing a position or an attitude of an ultrasonic probe for receiving ultrasonic waves generated in the breast tissue by laser pulses in synchronization with the position or posture of the laser collimator. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the breast diagnostic plate is transmissive to laser pulses emitted from the laser collimator. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the breast diagnostic plate is absorbent or transmissive to ultrasonic waves generated in a breast tissue. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the laser positioning unit
And a second actuator for driving the first actuator in a direction orthogonal to the first direction, wherein the first actuator drives the first actuator in a first direction, and the second actuator drives the first actuator in a direction perpendicular to the first direction. . 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the laser positioning unit
Wherein the laser collimator is mounted on a distal end of the housing and is embodied as a robot arm having at least two degrees of freedom. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic probe operates in one of a photoacoustic receiving mode and an ultrasonic imaging mode, receives ultrasound signals generated in tissue by a laser pulse of the laser collimator in a photoacoustic receiving mode, Wherein the controller is operative to transmit ultrasonic waves and to receive reflected ultrasonic waves reflected from the tissue. [2] The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the probe position synchronization unit operates to closely contact the ultrasonic probe to maintain contact with the skin of the breast placed on the breast diagnostic plate. The method according to claim 1,
And a laser generator for generating a tunable laser pulse and providing the generated laser pulse to the laser collimator. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising an ultrasound signal processing unit for analyzing the ultrasound signals received by the ultrasound probe and performing two-dimensional or three-dimensional imaging of the ultrasound signals. [11] The method of claim 9, wherein the ultrasound signal processing unit is operable in one of an optical acoustic reception mode and an ultrasound imaging mode. In the photoacoustic reception mode, the ultrasound signal processing unit processes and analyzes ultrasonic signals generated in tissue by laser pulses of the laser collimator And to process and analyze reflected ultrasound waves reflected from the tissue when the ultrasound imaging mode is selected. [Claim 11] The method of claim 10, wherein the ultrasound signal processing unit is operable to combine a first image analyzed in the photoacoustic receiving mode and a second image analyzed in the ultrasound imaging mode to generate a two- or three- A photoacoustic scanning device for diagnosis. The diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a diagnosis control section for controlling the position and orientation of the laser collimator and the characteristics of the emitted laser according to an operation of an operator or according to a profile stored in advance, .

Images