Modeling strategies of ultrasound backscattering by blood

Abstract

Tissue characterization using ultrasound (US) scattering can allow the identification of relevant cellular biophysical information noninvasively. The characterization of the level of red blood cell (RBC) aggregation is one of the proposed applications. Different modeling strategies have been investigated by our group to better understand the mechanisms of US backscattering by blood, and to propose relevant measurable indices of aggregation. It could be hypothesized from these studies that the microstructure formed by RBC clusters is a main determinant of US backscattered power. The structure factor, which is related to the Fourier transform of the microscopic density function of RBCs, is described and used to explain the scattering behavior for different spatial arrangements of nonaggregated and aggregated RBCs. The microscopic density function was described by the Percus–Yevick approximation (nonaggregated RBCs), and for aggregated RBCs, by the Poisson distribution, the Neyman–Scott point process, and very recently by a flow-dependent rheological model. These statistical and microrheological models allowed the study of US backscattered power as a function of the hematocrit, scatterers’ size, insonification frequency, and level of RBC aggregation. Experimental results available from the literature were used to validate the different approaches. [Work supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MOP-36467), HSFQ, FCAR, and FRSQ.]