This technology is an imaging technique for noninvasive and accurate assessment of tumor stiffness and elasticity, enabling the detection and monitoring of tumor progression in patients as well as assessment of chemotherapy and thermal ablation therapy.
Detecting and monitoring tumor progression requires the use of ultrasound and other imaging techniques for visualization. However, it is difficult to accurately identify the boundaries of tumors and estimate their physical properties, as current methods of detecting tumors and tracking their progression suffer from slow speeds and low imaging resolution. Additionally, these methods are invasive, requiring pathology sampling and radiology intervention during surgery. There is a need for enhanced imaging techniques for noninvasive tumor monitoring, in order to improve diagnosis and surgical outcomes.
This technology employs a focused transducer to perturb soft tissue, and uses ultrasound imaging to detect this perturbation, subsequently measuring its mechanical properties. It provides accurate estimates of tumor elasticity, viscosity, and stiffness. Furthermore, this technology facilitates fast and noninvasive imaging of tumors, thereby enabling real-time, accurate assessment of tumor boundaries during surgical procedures and chemotherapy or ablation therapy. Harmonic motion elastography (HME) is noninvasive, can be used for tumor margin delineation and monitoring in real-time, as well as treatment monitoring for determining therapeutic efficacy.
This technology has been validated in transgenic mouse models of breast and pancreatic cancer as well as in patients with breast cancer.
IR CU19055
Licensing Contact: Ron Katz
