Azra Alizad, M.D.

I am interested in medical applications of ultrasound radiation force, including imaging, characterization of biological materials, and evaluation of tissue elasticity.

My main research focuses on clinical applications of a newly invented imaging modality, called vibro-acoustography, which is based on radiation force of ultrasound.

I am conducting vibro-acoustography imaging for in-vivo detection of breast lesions, thyroid nodules, and prostate cancer. I am the principal investigator of three founded grants and a co-investigator in a number of other grants.

Lesion stiffness has been recognized as an important factor in differentiating between malignant and benign masses. Thus, imaging methods that are sensitive to tissue stiffness are of great interest for breast imaging.

Vibro-acoustography (VA) is a new imaging method that uses ultrasound in a fundamentally new way to produce images that are sensitive to tissue stiffness. In this method, the tissue is vibrated at low frequencies. Tissue motion, which is a function of its stiffness, is used to produce high-resolution, high-contrast, and speckle free images. In preliminary studies, we have demonstrated that VA can be used in vivo, and can detect mass lesions in tissue samples. Such images show malignant lesions with enhanced borders and rough textures.

My funded grants:

• "Combined Acoustic Imaging and Viscoelastic Parameters Estimation in Breast Cancer," NIH R01 grant funded by National Institutes of Health-National Cancer Center R01 â?? The purpose of this research is to optimize and evaluate the efficacy of a hybrid imaging and quantitative viscoelasticity measurement tool for breast cancer detection and monitoring.
• "Identification and Differentiation of Breast Masses by a Novel Imaging Method," funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the performance of vibro-acoustography for detection of mass lesions in human breast.
• "Breast Vibro-acoustography with Array Probe," funded by National Institutes of Health R21. This research aims at developing a new breast imaging tool with hand held probe. We examine the effectiveness of this new method as a diagnostic tool in detection of breast lesions and breast cancer.
• "A Novel Thyroid Imaging Method for Improving Specificity," funded by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM). The goal is to develop a new ultrasound-based imaging that is cost effective, at least as sensitive as conventional ultrasound in detecting thyroid nodules, but more specific in differentiating such nodules than conventional ultrasound.