Thursday,  February 14, 2013 • Vol. 14--No. 210 • 6 of 40 •  Other Editions

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Wu-Kyung Moon of Seoul National University, a medical doctor and one of South Korea's leading cancer researchers.  Shin returned from Korea in January with the imaging data. 
• "We have rich information now," Wang said. 
• The software they develop will first identify the tumor on the MTI and then compare that image to a database of more than 100,000 MRI images.  Next, the program will choose the cases that are most similar and extract the image along with the case files, Wang said.  These will tell the doctor what treatments were used, how successful they were at combatting the cancer.
• Based on the patient histories, doctors will have the information they need to determine the best plan of action for the patient.
• The professors and their team of four master's degree students and one undergraduate have developed several algorithms, Wang said, "to optimally identify the tumor."  Using the new patient data, they will determine which computer program is the more effective in determining the similarities between MTI and MRI images.  Based on these comparisons, they will then improve the program's capabilities. 
•  Shin explained that the process is dependent on the quality of image that the machine produces.   Currently the imaging machine uses a wave frequency of three gigahertz, Wang said, "which gives the patient exposure to less radiation than using a cell phone." 
• In November, the research institute began upgrading its machine to six gigahertz and hopes to schedule human testing by March 2014.
• "Higher frequency will give a better image," Wang said. They estimate that this work will take them until 2015 to complete and hope future funding will involve partnering with an American health-care facility.
• Microwave tomography can be a compromise between mammography and MRI, Wang said.  Although mammography is the least costly evaluation technique, its accuracy suffers when dealing with dense breast tissues, Shin said.  Another downside to mammography is the patient's exposure to X-rays.
• Tomography imaging also offers an increased comfort level and fewer steps for the patient, Shin said.  Unlike mammography, no compression techniques are necessary.  Waves travel through a gel called Phantom, so the patient simply lies down on a special bed that allows her to place her breast in the gel, Wang explained.  In addition, tomography images are three-dimensional, so only one image is required, rather than the multiple angles necessary with mammography.
• The current cost of a tomography machine is less than $100,000, as compared

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