Study of new modalities of imaging based on x-ray scattering properties for breast câncer diagnosis

• Grant number: 10/20642-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2011
• End date: March 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Radiology
• Principal Investigator: Martin Eduardo Poletti
• Grantee: André Luiz Coelho Conceição
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 11/20632-6 - Study of application of X-ray scattering techniques to produce breast nanoimages, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Given the large number of new cases of breast cancer worldwide every year and the limitations of the current imaging techniques by absorption in providing the early diagnosis of this disease, which would increase the chances of cure, new imaging modalities have been studied in order to complement the information provided by them.In this sense, the purpose of this project is to study tomographic imaging techniques based on the x-ray scattering phenomenon by the tissues that compose the breast. The tomographic images by x-ray scattering enables, in addition to a three-dimensional inspection of the entire breast volume, a better definition of contours, by means of the diffraction enhanced imaging (DEI) technique, higher contrast between tumor and healthy tissue, using the imaging X-ray diffraction imaging (XRDI) technique, and information about the spread of cancer at molecular scale, from the small angle x-ray scattering imaging (SAXSI) technique. Yet, the information obtained from images of a sample will be correlated with those from histological sections. Finally, we will evaluate the combination of these techniques simultaneously in the same experiment. This type of study is potentially important in healthcare because is associated with the study of new radiological techniques that would complement the information of current imaging techniques and then improve the diagnostic capability of breast cancer.