Medical Imaging Fails Dark Skin: Researchers Fixed It
Published:31 Oct.2023 Source:Johns Hopkins University
Traditional medical imaging works great for people with light skin but has trouble getting clear pictures from patients with darker skin. A Johns Hopkins University-led team found a way to deliver clear pictures of anyone's internal anatomy, no matter their skin tone.
Bell's team created a new algorithm to process information from photoacoustic imaging, a method that combines ultrasound and light waves to render medical images. Body tissue absorbing this light expands, producing subtle sound waves that ultrasound devices turn into images of blood vessels, tumors, and other internal structures. But in people with darker skin tones, melanin absorbs more of this light, which yields cluttered or noisy signals for ultrasound machines. The team was able to filter the unwanted signals from images of darker skin, in the way a camera filter sharpens a blurry picture, to provide more accurate details about the location and presence of internal biological structures.
The researchers are now working to apply the new findings to breast cancer imaging, since blood vessels can accumulate in and around tumors. Bell believes the work will improve surgical navigation as well as medical diagnostics.