Ultrasound imaging in breast cancer and neuromuscular disorders: Methods for quantitative and three-dimensional imaging
Ultrasound (US) is a very commonly used imaging technique in clinical care. Many applications include the use of US imaging because it is an effective, safe and efficient tool. Even though US has been available to clinics for decades, continuous technological improvements keep improving or enable applications in clinical care. Developments like automated US for breast cancer screening offer tools that may be complementary to or alternatives for mammography which is the current first choice in breast cancer screening. Besides the development of a technique towards an application, the same technique may be translated towards a new application. In case of US, the addition or transition to quantitative US might offer new parameters that aid the objectification of US imaging findings.
The aim of this thesis is to extend and push the adoption of existing US techniques for the detection of breast cancer and neuromuscular disorders. The main techniques covered in this thesis are three-dimensional (3D) US, MRI/US fusion, and quantitative US in imaging and image guided biopsy.