Images of thyroid lesions by scanning acoustic microscopy

What is it about?

Thyroid histology was made by acoustic properties of components in the tissue. Harder tissues showed more speed of sound than softer tissues. Concentrated colloids, red blood cells, and collagen fibers showed great speed-of-sound (SOS), while low-concentrated colloids, parathyroids, lymph follicles, and epithelial tissues including carcinomas demonstrated lower SOS. SAM clearly discriminated structure of thyroid components corresponding to low magnification of light microscopy.

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Why is it important?

The imaging method had the following benefits: 1) precise images were acquired in a few minutes without special staining 2) structural irregularity and desmoplastic reactions, which indicated malignancy, were detected 3) images reflected tissue elasticity, which was statistically comparable among lesions by speed-of-sound (SOS). 4) follicular functional activity was predictable by converting colloid concentration to SOS. 5) more poorly differentiated tumors show lower SOS.