TY - JOUR
T1 - Multi-parametric acoustic imaging of cervix for more accurate detection of patients at risk of preterm birth
AU - Yan, Yan
AU - Basij, Maryam
AU - Wang, Zhijie
AU - Siddiqui, Adeel
AU - Dong, Jiayin
AU - Alijabbari, Naser
AU - Hernandez-Andrade, Edgar
AU - Gomez-Lopez, Nardhy
AU - Hassan, Sonia
AU - Mehrmohammadi, Mohammad
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 IEEE.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Preterm delivery (PTD) can cause serious health problems and can jeopardize the life of a newborn. Diagnostic imaging of cervix is mostly limited to ultrasound (US), especially transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) for measuring the cervical length and has shown low sensitivity and specificity for determining the risk of PTD. US viscoelasticity (VE) and photoacoustic (PA) imaging are commonly used quantitative functional imaging modalities which are used in conjunction with US imaging to provide additional information on tissue composition and functionality. Cervical ripening, or shortening and softening of the cervix, is indicative of the stage of the delivery. During the ripening process, the cervical tissue undergoes microstructural changes, such as the disorganization of the collagen network. We developed a tri-modal transvaginal US, PA, and VE imaging system and evaluated this system to monitor phantom and murine cervical changes. Specifically, in this study, we demonstrate the utility of spectroscopic PA (sPA) to monitor cervical tissue hydration and collagen disorganization. The sPA is capable of measuring tissue vascularization and oxygenation, which could serve as valuable biomarkers of cervical insufficiency and ripening. The combined probe can provide a range of clinical biomarkers characterizing the microstructural, functional and molecular changes in the cervical tissue. These biomarkers can potentially enhance the identification and prognosis of patients who are at risk of PTD.
AB - Preterm delivery (PTD) can cause serious health problems and can jeopardize the life of a newborn. Diagnostic imaging of cervix is mostly limited to ultrasound (US), especially transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) for measuring the cervical length and has shown low sensitivity and specificity for determining the risk of PTD. US viscoelasticity (VE) and photoacoustic (PA) imaging are commonly used quantitative functional imaging modalities which are used in conjunction with US imaging to provide additional information on tissue composition and functionality. Cervical ripening, or shortening and softening of the cervix, is indicative of the stage of the delivery. During the ripening process, the cervical tissue undergoes microstructural changes, such as the disorganization of the collagen network. We developed a tri-modal transvaginal US, PA, and VE imaging system and evaluated this system to monitor phantom and murine cervical changes. Specifically, in this study, we demonstrate the utility of spectroscopic PA (sPA) to monitor cervical tissue hydration and collagen disorganization. The sPA is capable of measuring tissue vascularization and oxygenation, which could serve as valuable biomarkers of cervical insufficiency and ripening. The combined probe can provide a range of clinical biomarkers characterizing the microstructural, functional and molecular changes in the cervical tissue. These biomarkers can potentially enhance the identification and prognosis of patients who are at risk of PTD.
KW - Cervix
KW - Collagen network
KW - Photoacoustic
KW - Preterm delivery
KW - trimodal
KW - Ultrasound
KW - Viscoelasticity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85065590480&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/ULTSYM.2018.8580030
DO - 10.1109/ULTSYM.2018.8580030
M3 - Conference article
AN - SCOPUS:85065590480
SN - 1948-5719
VL - 2018-January
JO - IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, IUS
JF - IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, IUS
M1 - 8580030
T2 - 2018 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, IUS 2018
Y2 - 22 October 2018 through 25 October 2018
ER -