Effect of tissue acoustic properties on HIFU temperature field

Abstract

Objective To improve the safety and reliability in high intensity focused ultrasound(HIFU)therapy, the effects of tissue acoustic properties on the high intensity focused ultrasound temperature field were investigated. Methods Based on the measured data of sound velocity and attenuation coefficient at different temperature, the variation of sound velocity and attenuation coefficient, and the temperature distribution in tissue during HIFU therapy was simulated using FDTD method. Moreover, the effects of the two variable acoustic parameters on the therapeutic region above 60 ℃ were evaluated. Results Tissue temperature raise, sound speed decreased and the attenuation coefficient increased in the focal region, along with the passage of the exposure time. Therapeutic region increased slightly and the focal point slightly moved away from the transducer when the sound velocity varied. There were negligible changes in the therapeutic region and the position of focal point when the attenuation coefficient changed alone in the study. Conclusion The variation of sound velocity can affect the size and location of the focal region in pig liver, while the effect of the attenuation coefficient variation is negligible. Key words: High intensity focused ultrasound; Sound velocity; Attenuation coefficient; Temperature distribution