Super resolution contrast ultrasound imaging: Analysis of imaging resolution and application to imaging tumor angiogenesis

Tumor associated microvascular angiogenesis is an important biomarker for cancer diagnostics. However, ultrasound is challenged in the detection of these microvascular changes due to resolution and/or sensitivity limits. Recently proposed ultrasound localization microscopy technique can achieve a ten-fold resolution improvement compared with traditional ultrasound imaging and therefore, can achieve super-resolution vascular imaging. This study investigates the feasibility of this revolutionary technique to examine tumor associated microvascular angiogenesis. In vitro experimental results acquired from microtubes and in vivo 2D images from rat subcutaneous fibrosarcoma tumors show this technique might be a valuable tool for imaging tumor microvasculature.