Review of Current Advances in Ultrasound Computed Tomography for Medical Imaging

Ultrasound Computed Tomography (USCT) represents a paradigm shift in medical imaging, offering quantitative, high-resolution tissue characterization for diverse anatomical regions including breast, musculoskeletal system, brain, and lungs. By capturing the full ultrasonic wavefield through dedicated transducer arrays, USCT enables reconstruction of intrinsic tissue properties such as sound speed, attenuation, and acoustic impedance. Unlike conventional ultrasound, USCT provides three fundamental advantages: full-angle tomographic reconstruction, quantitative multi-parameter imaging capabilities, and operator-independent standardized acquisition-all while maintaining ultrasound's inherent safety and cost-effectiveness. While clinical adoption is still evolving, the technology has achieved significant milestones with several commercially available systems receiving regulatory approval for breast imaging. This review synthesizes recent advances across five critical domains: system hardware design, reflection imaging, quantitative multi-parameter reconstruction (particularly through full-waveform inversion), precision calibration methodologies, and expanding clinical applications. Additionally, we have offered a comprehensive review of the application of deep learning-related technologies in USCT. By comprehensively analyzing current challenges and emerging trends, this work provides researchers and clinicians with an essential reference for understanding the state of the art and identifying pivotal pathways toward widespread clinical implementation of USCT technology.