# Multifrequency ultrasound imaging for improved breast tissue characterization

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS DALLAS · 2022 · $603,593

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The use of noninvasive ultrasound for quantitative tissue characterization has been an exciting research prospect
for several decades now. Herein the challenge is to find hidden patterns in the ultrasound data to reveal more
information about tissue function and pathology that cannot be seen in the more conventional ultrasound images.
Bypassing some of the limitations associated with traditional tissue characterization approaches, a new modality
has emerged for the ultrasound classification of acoustic scatterers like cancer cells. Termed H-scan ultrasound
(where the ‘H’ stands for Hermite or hue), this innovative real-time imaging technique reveals the local frequency
dependence of different-sized scatterer aggregates found in soft tissue. Our preliminary preclinical findings using
in vivo H-scan ultrasound have indicated that this new imaging technique is useful for detecting apoptotic activity
and an early response to chemotherapy. Here changes in H-scan ultrasound image intensity were shown to
have a strong correlation to local cancer cell nuclear size. Guided by knowledge gained from these previous
studies, the purpose of the current research project is to develop a next-generation in vivo H-scan ultrasound
imaging system and tumor characterization method. Our first goal is to implement a multifrequency H-scan
ultrasound imaging functionality on programmable scanner equipped with a wideband capacitive micromachined
ultrasonic transducer (CMUT). This new ultrasound imaging technology will be tested and optimized using a
series of phantom materials embedded with scatterers of known size. Next, we will quantify success of H-scan
ultrasound imaging for monitoring an early response to chemotherapy using a preclinical model of breast cancer
that recapitulates human disease. We will then compare H-scan ultrasound findings to physical measurements
of cancer cell size and results obtained by competing imaging technologies. Lastly, we will conduct the first
human study of multifrequency H-scan ultrasound imaging of breast cancer and evaluate the potential for helping
with disease management.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10530983
- **Project number:** 1R01CA269973-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS DALLAS
- **Principal Investigator:** Kenneth Hoyt
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $603,593
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-15 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10530983

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10530983, Multifrequency ultrasound imaging for improved breast tissue characterization (1R01CA269973-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10530983. Licensed CC0.

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