A simple technique for the production of ultrasound mammograms employing unmodified commercially available B-scanners has been developed. Specific image criteria of breast lesions were correlated with the histopathologic appearances of the tissue. Special connective tissue stains were employed. The thickness and echogenicity of the breast tumor border correlated with the level of surrounding collagenosis and tumor invasion. The acoustic attenuation of breast tumors was qualitatively proportional to the amount of collagen within the tumor. The accuracies of specific image criteria for the diagnosis of carcinoma were determined. Water-lipid interfaces appear to be important in the production of echoes from within breast tissue and at the tumor margin.
Assessing breast tumor margin by multispectral photoacoustic tomography
