8A-4 Spatial Co-Registration of Magnetic Resonance and Ultrasound Images of the Prostate as a Basis for Multi-Modality Tissue-Type Imaging

We aim to integrate the chemical properties sensed by magnetic-resonance spectroscopy (MRS) with the micro-architectural mechanical properties sensed by ultrasound spectra to enhance our classifier sensitivity and specificity for distinguishing between cancerous and noncancerous regions in the prostate. Successfully combining ultrasound spectral parameters with MRS parameters, requires spatially co-registering 3-D volumes generated from ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance data. We assessed two methods of co-registration. In the first method, volumes were warped in 3-D to compensate for distortions introduced during imaging. In the second method, a 3-D algorithm developed by Brigham and Women's Hospital volumetrically matched MR and US images using a soft-tissue deformation model. We expect new multi-modality US-MRS tissue-type images to further advance our ability to visualize prostate cancer reliably and consequently improve prostate cancer biopsy guidance, treatment planning and treatment monitoring.