Prof. Bell received a $1.4M NIH R01 grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering to support our project entitled, Minimizing Uncertainty in Breast Ultrasound Imaging with Real-Time Coherence-Based Beamforming. This project is motivated by the clinical challenges surrounding ultrasound images yielding inconclusive results in a subset of patients, necessitating biopsies, aspirations, or follow-up imaging, which increase patient anxiety and places additional burdens on the time available for clinical care and the resource allocations of our healthcare system. The goal of this project is to develop new, real-time ultrasound imaging technology that will simplify clinical workflows by distinguishing fluid-filled masses from solid masses and from complex cystic and solid masses, which all appear hypoechoic in traditional ultrasound B-mode images. This work will be completed in collaboration with breast radiologists Eniola Oluyemi, MD, Kelly Myers, MD, Emily Ambinder, MD, and Lisa Mullen, MD.
Three of our pioneering journal publications in this area include:
- Wiacek A, Rindal OMH, Falomo E, Myers K, Fabrega-Foster K, Harvey S, Bell MAL, Robust Short-Lag Spatial Coherence Imaging of Breast Ultrasound Data: Initial Clinical Results, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, 66(3):527-540, 2019 [pdf]
- Wiacek A, Oluyemi E, Myers K, Mullen L, Bell MAL, Coherence-based beamforming increases the diagnostic certainty of distinguishing fluid from solid masses in breast ultrasound exams, Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, 46(6):1380-1394, 2020 [pdf]
- Wiacek A, González E, Bell MAL, CohereNet: A Deep Learning Architecture for Ultrasound Spatial Correlation Estimation and Coherence-Based Beamforming, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, 67(12):2574-2583, 2020 [featured on journal cover] [pdf]
This work has also been featured in the following articles and press releases:
- Duke Biomedical Engineering (BME) Magazine (Spring 2019): Making the Next Wave of Imaging Tools for Cancer Diagnosis
- MIT Technology Review (8/23/16): Creating clearer imaging to spot cancer earlier and more accurately
We additionally have a pending patent for these ideas.