University of Southern California researchers have demonstrated a novel “High-resolution Ultrasonic Transmission Tomography” (HUTT) system that offers 3D images of soft tissue that are superior to those produced by existing commercial X-ray, ultrasound or MRI units.

According to Vasilis Marmarelis, a USC professor of biomedical engineering, HUTT offers nearly order-of-magnitude improvement in resolution of structures in soft tissue (0.4 mm, compared to 2 mm for the best alternatives).

HUTT can differentiate separate types of tissue based on their distinctive “frequency-dependent attenuation” profiles, which should allow clinicians to distinguish malignant lesions from benign growths in a non-invasive and highly reliable manner.

Scans can be performed in a matter of a few minutes and because they are ultrasonic, they do not use potentially harmful ionizing radiation.

The key features that distinguishing HUTT from all previous ultrasound imaging systems is the use of multi-band analysis with sub-millimeter ultrasonic transducers in transmission mode, rather than the commonly used echo mode, to create the 3-D image.

The HUTT system transmits an extremely short ultrasonic pulse (about 250 nanoseconds) at 4-12 MHz and picks up the pulse on the other side after it has traveled through the imaged object.

University of Southern California news story