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Norwegian researchers have developed a new ultrasound technology they say will make it possible to cancer tumors far earlier than is possible with current ultrasound techniques.
The first clinical tests have been done, and the results so far are promising, according to researcher Rune Hansen of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and SINTEF Health Research.
Ultrasound images obtained using current methods are often compromised by background noise generate when sound signals ricochet back and forth between layers of fat, muscles and connective tissue in the body wall, resulting in foggy images.
The new method makes it possible to separate out details in parts of the body such as the liver, prostate and breast. This makes it easier to discover changes in body tissue, increasing the chances of discovering cancer tumours at an early stage.
In addition to providing a more detailed image of individual tissues, the new ultrasound method is much better at highlighting contrast agents.
The technique has the potential to pinpoint the growth of blood vessels that tumours generate to obtain the oxygen and nutrients that enable them to grow much earlier than at present, according to Hansen.
He says the new method will make it possible to discover prostate, breast and thyroid gland cancers at an earlier stage of development. Another area of application is the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases like heart diseases and plaque and stenoses in large arteries.
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