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News
& Ideas
CANCER SCREENING:
Improving breast cancer detection
David Isaacson, a mathematics professor who specializes
in medical imaging, is developing a
better screening method for breast cancer.
Knowing that tumors conduct electricity
five to 10 times more readily than regular tissue, Isaacson
and his team of researchers set out to develop the Fourth
Generation Adaptive Current Tomograph (ACT4). The system will
deliver real-time images of the electrical state of the body’s
interior from measurements made on the exterior.
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Knowing that tumors conduct electricity five to
10 times more readily than regular tissue, Isaacson and his team
of researchers set out to develop the Fourth Generation Adaptive
Current Tomograph (ACT4). The system will deliver real-time images
of the electrical state of the body’s interior from measurements
made on the exterior.
Using electrodes applied to the outside of the
breast, currents are transmitted through the area in question.
A computer measures and records the voltages required to push
the current through the tissue. A mathematical algorithm is used
to reconstruct and display the internal conductivity in color
or as a gray scale on a screen.
Hospitals have used a related method called electrical
impedance spectroscopy, or EIS, in conjunction with a mammogram.
On an EIS screen, a healthy breast will show up as a uniform dark
area, while a tumor is displayed as a light spot on the screen.
Isaacson’s device goes one step further.
The computed distributions provide a colorful 3-D image of the
tissue and fluids inside the breast. ACT4 also would be used in
conjunction with a mammogram.
“ACT4 probably won’t replace a mammogram, but it may provide an improvement,” says Isaacson. “The nature of tumors is that there are lots of different kinds. Physicians need a variety of methods to get the best diagnosis.”
CONTACT: Theresa Bourgeois, (518) 276-2840,
bourgt@rpi.edu
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