An Improved Strategy for Detection and Localization of Nodules in Liver Tissues by a 16 MHz Needle Ultrasonic Probe Mounted on a Robotic Platform

Autor: Arianna Menciassi, Marina Mazzoni, Sahana Prasanna, Luca Massari, Calogero Maria Oddo, Lorenzo Capineri, Andrea Bulletti
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Materials science
Swine
Ultrasound attenuation
detection
lcsh:Chemical technology
ultrasonic probe
01 natural sciences
Biochemistry
Article
localization
Force sensor
Analytical Chemistry
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Robotic Surgical Procedures
0103 physical sciences
Animals
Humans
agar phantom
cancer nodules
liver tissue
ultrasound signal processing
correlation index
lcsh:TP1-1185
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Agar phantom
Cancer nodules
Correlation index
Detection
Liver tissue
Localization
Ultrasonic probe
Ultrasound signal processing
Pork Liver
010301 acoustics
Instrumentation
business.industry
Medical instruments
Ultrasound
Atomic and Molecular Physics
and Optics
Liver
030220 oncology & carcinogenesis
Ultrasonic sensor
Decision process
business
Biomedical engineering
Zdroj: Sensors, Vol 20, Iss 4, p 1183 (2020)
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
Sensors
Volume 20
Issue 4
ISSN: 1424-8220
DOI: 10.3390/s20041183
Popis: This study presents an improved strategy for the detection and localization of small size nodules (down to few mm) of agar in excised pork liver tissues via pulse-echo ultrasound measurements performed with a 16 MHz needle probe. This work contributes to the development of a new generation of medical instruments to support robotic surgery decision processes that need information about cancerous tissues in a short time (minutes). The developed ultrasonic probe is part of a scanning platform designed for the automation of surgery-associated histological analyses. It was coupled with a force sensor to control the indentation of tissue samples placed on a steel plate. For the detection of nodules, we took advantage of the property of nodules of altering not only the acoustical properties of tissues producing ultrasound attenuation, but also of developing patterns at their boundary that can modify the shape and the amplitude of the received echo signals from the steel plate supporting the tissues. Besides the Correlation Index Amplitude (CIA), which is linked to the overall amplitude changes of the ultrasonic signals, we introduced the Correlation Index Shape (CIS) linked to their shape changes. Furthermore, we applied AND-OR logical operators to these correlation indices. The results were found particularly helpful in the localization of the irregular masses of agar we inserted into some excised liver tissues, and in the individuation of the regions of major interest over which perform the vertical dissections of tissues in an automated analysis finalized to histopathology. We correctly identified up to 89% of inclusions, with an improvement of about 14% with respect to the result obtained (78%) from the analysis performed with the CIA parameter only.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:
Nepřihlášeným uživatelům se plný text nezobrazuje