Currently, breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women all over the world. A novel 3D breast ultrasound imaging ring system using the linear array transducer is proposed to decrease costs, reduce processing difficulties, and improve patient comfort as compared to modern day breast screening systems. The 1 × 128 Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (PMUT) linear array is placed 90 degrees cross-vertically. The transducer surrounds the mammary gland, which allows for non-contact detection. Once the experimental platform is built, the breast model is placed through the electric rotary table opening and into a water tank that is at a constant temperature of 32 °C. The electric rotary table performs a 360° scan either automatically or mechanically. Pulse echo signals are captured through a circular scanning method at discrete angles. Subsequently, an ultrasonic tomography algorithm is designed, and a horizontal slice imaging is realized. The experimental results indicate that the preliminary detection of mass is realized by using this ring system. Circular scanning imaging is obtained by using a rotatable linear array instead of a cylindrical array, which allows the size and location of the mass to be recognized. The resolution of breast imaging is improved through the adjustment of the angle interval (>0.05°) and multiple slices are gained through different transducer array elements (1 × 128). These results validate the feasibility of the system design as well as the algorithm, and encourage us to implement our concept with a clinical study in the future.

In this paper, we propose a multi-perspective ultrasound imaging technology with the cylindrical motion of four piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT) rotatable linear arrays. The transducer is configured in a cross shape vertically on the circle with the length of the arrays parallel to the z axis, roughly perpendicular to the chest wall. The transducers surrounded the breast, which achieves non-invasive detection. The electric rotary table drives the PMUT to perform cylindrical scanning. A breast model with a 2 cm mass in the center and six 1-cm superficial masses were used for the experimental analysis. The detection was carried out in a water tank and the working temperature was constant at 32 °C. The breast volume data were acquired by rotating the probe 90° with a 2° interval, which were 256 × 180 A-scan lines. The optimized segmented dynamic focusing technology was used to improve the image quality and data reconstruction was performed. A total of 256 A-scan lines at a constant angle were recombined and 180 A-scan lines were recombined according to the nth element as a dataset, respectively. Combined with ultrasound imaging algorithms, multi-perspective ultrasound imaging was realized including vertical slices, horizontal slices and 3D imaging. The seven masses were detected and the absolute error of the size was approximately 1 mm where even the image of the injection pinhole could be seen. Furthermore, the breast boundary could be seen clearly from the chest wall to the nipple, so the location of the masses was easier to confirm. Therefore, the validity and feasibility of the data reconstruction method and imaging algorithm were verified. It will be beneficial for doctors to be able to comprehensively observe the pathological tissue.

This article presents a new ultrasound transmission tomography reconstruction algorithm based on a isometric fan-shaped beam along the straight trajectory for an original breast ultrasound imaging system with the cylindrical motion of opposite linear arrays. The ultrasound computed tomography system and measurement scheme are described in detail. The reconstruction algorithm is derived. The numerical breast phantom model is built, including eight structures representing the adipose tissue, glandular tissue, cysts, fibroadenomas, cancer, and calcifications. Using one array as a transmitter and the other one as a receiver, the attenuation distribution in a medium interposed between them is reconstructed. However, limited angle tomography is usually plagued by artifacts along the depth of the image that cause shape distortion to be ellipses, which had an impact on the accurate judgment of the size and shape. B-mode ultrasound images are used as prior information to aid in improving the image quality of limited aperture reconstructions. Simulation results show that the number, location, size, and shape of cancer, cyst, fibroadenoma, and calcification in the numerical breast phantom are reconstructed. Moreover, the quantitative analysis of reconstructed images demonstrates that the reconstruction performance of the region of interest has been greatly improved, which verifies the feasibility of the algorithm using two opposite linear arrays. The reconstruction images are produced by the designed ultrasound tomography reconstruction algorithm, allowing the assessment of the morphology, orientation, internal structure, and margins of lesions in the breast tissue. The ability to create good attenuation images using the cylindrical motion of opposite linear arrays allows reconstructing the three-dimensional image for breast cancer detection and characterization studies.

The extracellular matrix provides a structural foundation for cells while also providing biophysical and biochemical signals that guide and influence cell migration. Previous studies have demonstrated that factors such as topography, material composition, and surface energy can significantly influence the migratory behaviors of cells. However, the relationship between surface energy and cell migration on various surfaces is not well understood. To investigate this, we fabricated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) platforms featuring nanopillars, as well as silicon oxide (SiOx) and titanium oxide (TiOx) surface coatings. The study examined the cells’ migration speed, morphology, and spreading in relation to the different surface properties and surface energies. Cells exhibited distinctive migration behaviors on the PDMS platforms with nanopillars and various surface coatings. In contrast to the flat PDMS, cells cultured on the SiOx and TiOx coatings exhibited less elongated morphologies, decreased mobility, and larger overall cell areas. Specifically, cells had the smallest cell elongation on the SiOx surface and the lowest migration speed on platforms coated with TiOx. In contrast, cells cultured on the nanopillar surface exhibited increased migration speeds, more elongated morphologies, and smaller overall cell areas. These findings suggest that cell migration behavior is obviously affected by the existence of nanopillars or the type of surface coating, which in turn is relevant to the surface energy of the platform. Elucidating the relationships between various surface properties, resulting cell migration behaviors, and overall surface energy could enable improved control over cell migration in a bionic platform designed to promote tissue regeneration and repair.

In order to better detect information about a mass in breast tissue, an ultrasound tomography algorithm based on adaptive time gain compensation (TGC) was designed. Field II was utilized to automatically evaluate the phantom attenuation coefficient and compensate for the attenuated image. The image reconstruction algorithm process is presented here. Furthermore, the experimental setup with the cylindrical motion of a piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT) linear array was used to detect the mass in the breast model. The attenuation coefficient was evaluated by using the spectral cross-correlation method. According to the acquired attenuation coefficients, TGC compensates for the pulse-echo signal, and the horizontal slice image was reconstructed using the tomography algorithm. The experimental results show that this algorithm can evaluate the attenuation coefficient of the breast model and improve the ability to detect an internal mass. At the same time, the realization of attenuation compensation with software is beneficial to the development of portable medical equipment.