In vivo photoacoustic and ultrafast ultrasound Doppler assessment of vascularity for potential thyroid cancer diagnosis: a comprehensive review

Journal article : Review

Thyroid cancer remains prevalent worldwide, with its incidence steadily increasing in recent decades. Although ultrasonography is currently the primary screening method in clinical practice, its relatively low specificity has contributed to increased overdiagnosis. Furthermore, conventional ultrasonography is associated with challenges such as high inter- and intra-observer variability and limited functional imaging capabilities, which together reduce its diagnostic accuracy. To address these limitations, researchers have explored complementary image-based techniques to assess the vascularity surrounding cancerous nodules. This comprehensive review provides an overview of recent clinical trials investigating advanced ultrasound (US)-based imaging techniques for diagnosing thyroid cancer in humans. Specifically, we explore the use of photoacoustic imaging and ultrafast US Doppler techniques, highlighting their potential to enhance triaging accuracy by enabling the analysis of both structural and functional characteristics of thyroid nodules in vivo. Integrating these innovative approaches into existing ultrasonography protocols could significantly enhance the precision of thyroid cancer diagnosis.

Authors: Tsedendamba, N; Vial, J; Taylor, RA; Kim, J; Choi, W

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Journal: JPhys: Photonics
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 2
• Article number: 022002
• Publication date: 2025-04-01
• Acceptance date: 2025-03-23
• DOI: 10.1088/2515-7647/adc4a6
• EISSN: 2515-7647
• Language: English
• Keywords: ultrafast Doppler imaging; photoacoustic imaging; thyroid cancer; clinical study; vascularity analysis
• Subtype: Review