TY - GEN
T1 - Contrast enhanced magneto-motive ultrasound in lymph nodes - modelling and pre-clinical imaging using magnetic microbubbles
AU - Sjöstrand, Sandra
AU - Bacou, Marion
AU - Thomson, Adrian
AU - Kaczmarek, Katarzyna
AU - Evertsson, Maria
AU - Svensson, Ingrid
AU - Farrington, Susan M.
AU - Moug, Susan
AU - Jansson, Tomas
AU - Moran, Carmel M.
AU - Mulvana, Helen
PY - 2022/9/8
Y1 - 2022/9/8
N2 - Despite advances in MRI, the detection and characterisation of lymph nodes in rectal cancer remains complex, especially when assessing the response to neo-adjuvant treatment. An alternative approach is functional imaging, previously shown to aid characterization of cancer tissues. We report proof-of-concept of the novel technique Contrast-Enhanced Magneto-Motive Ultrasound (CE-MMUS) to recover information relating to local perfusion and lymphatic drainage, and interrogate tissue mechanical properties through magnetically induced tissue deformations. The feasibility of the proposed application was explored using a combination of pre-clinical ultrasound imaging and finite element analysis. First, contrast enhanced ultrasound imaging on one wild type mouse recorded lymphatic drainage of magnetic microbubbles after bolus injection. Second, preliminary CE-MMUS data were acquired as a proof of concept. Third, the magneto-mechanical interactions of a magnetic microbubble with an elastic solid were simulated using finite element software. Accumulation of magnetic microbubbles in the inguinal lymph node was verified using contrast enhanced ultrasound, with peak enhancement occurring 3.7 s post-injection. Preliminary CE-MMUS indicates the presence of magnetic contrast agent in the lymph node. The finite element analysis explores how the magnetic force is transferred to motion of the solid, which depends on elasticity and bubble radius, indicating an inverse relation with displacement. Combining magnetic microbubbles with MMUS could harness the advantages of both techniques, to provide perfusion information, robust lymph node delineation and characterisation based on mechanical properties. Clinical Relevance— Robust detection and characterisation of lymph nodes could be aided by visualising lymphatic drainage of magnetic microbubbles using contrast enhanced ultrasound imaging and magneto-motion, which is dependent on tissue mechanical properties.
AB - Despite advances in MRI, the detection and characterisation of lymph nodes in rectal cancer remains complex, especially when assessing the response to neo-adjuvant treatment. An alternative approach is functional imaging, previously shown to aid characterization of cancer tissues. We report proof-of-concept of the novel technique Contrast-Enhanced Magneto-Motive Ultrasound (CE-MMUS) to recover information relating to local perfusion and lymphatic drainage, and interrogate tissue mechanical properties through magnetically induced tissue deformations. The feasibility of the proposed application was explored using a combination of pre-clinical ultrasound imaging and finite element analysis. First, contrast enhanced ultrasound imaging on one wild type mouse recorded lymphatic drainage of magnetic microbubbles after bolus injection. Second, preliminary CE-MMUS data were acquired as a proof of concept. Third, the magneto-mechanical interactions of a magnetic microbubble with an elastic solid were simulated using finite element software. Accumulation of magnetic microbubbles in the inguinal lymph node was verified using contrast enhanced ultrasound, with peak enhancement occurring 3.7 s post-injection. Preliminary CE-MMUS indicates the presence of magnetic contrast agent in the lymph node. The finite element analysis explores how the magnetic force is transferred to motion of the solid, which depends on elasticity and bubble radius, indicating an inverse relation with displacement. Combining magnetic microbubbles with MMUS could harness the advantages of both techniques, to provide perfusion information, robust lymph node delineation and characterisation based on mechanical properties. Clinical Relevance— Robust detection and characterisation of lymph nodes could be aided by visualising lymphatic drainage of magnetic microbubbles using contrast enhanced ultrasound imaging and magneto-motion, which is dependent on tissue mechanical properties.
KW - ultrasonic imaging
KW - magnetic resonance imaging
KW - magnetoelasticity
KW - solids
KW - mechanical factors
KW - magnetic analysis
KW - finite element analysis (FEA)
U2 - 10.1109/embc48229.2022.9871876
DO - 10.1109/embc48229.2022.9871876
M3 - Conference contribution book
SN - 9781728127835
VL - 2022
T3 - Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference
SP - 194
EP - 197
BT - 2022 44th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society (EMBC)
PB - IEEE
CY - Piscataway, NJ
ER -