Conventional Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Research Articles

Compound Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging of Bovine Eye by Using Phase-Inverted Ultrasound Transducer.

In general, it is difficult to visualize internal ocular structure and detect a lesion such as a cataract or glaucoma using the current ultrasound brightness-mode (B-mode) imaging. This is because the internal structure of the eye is rich in moisture, resulting in a lack of contrast between tissues in the B-mode image, and the penetration depth is low due to the attenuation of the ultrasound wave. In this study, the entire internal ocular structure of a bovine eye was visualized in an ex vivo environment using the compound acoustic radiation force impulse (CARFI) imaging scheme based on the phase-inverted ultrasound transducer (PIUT). In the proposed method, the aperture of the PIUT is divided into four sections, and the PIUT is driven by the out-of-phase input signal capable of generating split-focusing at the same time. Subsequently, the compound imaging technique was employed to increase signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and to reduce displacement error. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed technique could provide an acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) image of the bovine eye with a broader depth-of-field (DOF) and about 80% increased SNR compared to the conventional ARFI image obtained using the in-phase input signal. Therefore, the proposed technique can be one of the useful techniques capable of providing the image of the entire ocular structure to diagnose various eye diseases.

Measurement of shear viscoelasticity using dual acoustic radiation pressure induced by continuous-wave ultrasounds

It is important to evaluate the viscoelasticity of muscle for assessment of its condition. However, quantitative and noninvasive diagnostic methods have not yet been established. In our previous study, we developed a method, which used ultrasonic acoustic radiation forces irradiated from two opposite horizontal directions, for measurement of the viscoelasticity. Using two continuous wave ultrasounds, an object can be actuated with an ultrasonic intensity, which is far lower (0.9 W/cm2) than that in the case of the conventional acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) method. In the present study, in vitro experiments using phantoms made of polyurethane rubber and porcine muscle tissue embedded in a gelatin block were conducted. We actuated phantoms by ultrasonic radiation force and measured the propagation velocity of the generated shear wave inside the phantoms using a diagnostic ultrasound system. The viscoelasticities of phantoms were estimated by fitting a viscoelastic model, i.e., the Voigt model, to the frequency characteristic of the measured shear wave propagation speed. In the mechanical tensile test, a softer polyurethane phantom exhibited a lower elasticity and a higher viscosity than a polyurethane phantom with a higher elasticity and a lower viscosity. The viscoelasticity measured by ultrasound showed the same tendency as that in the tensile test. Furthermore, the viscoelasticity of the phantom with porcine muscular tissue was measured in vitro, and the estimated viscoelasticity agreed well with that reported in the literature. These results show the possibility of the proposed method for noninvasive and quantitative assessment of the viscoelasticity of biological soft tissue.

Viscoelastic response (VisR) imaging for assessment of viscoelasticity in voigt materials

Viscoelastic response (VisR) imaging is presented as a new acoustic radiation force (ARF)-based elastographic imaging method. Exploiting the Voigt model, VisR imaging estimates displacement in only the ARF region of excitation from one or two successive ARF impulses to estimate τσ, the relaxation time for constant stress. Double-push VisR τσ estimates were not statistically significantly different (p < 0.02) from those of shearwave dispersion ultrasound vibrometry (SDUV) or monitored steady-state excitation recovery (MSSER) ultrasound in six homogeneous viscoelastic tissue mimicking phantoms with elastic moduli ranging from 3.92 to 15.34 kPa and coefficients of viscosity ranging from 0.87 to 14.06 Pa·s. In two-dimensional imaging, double-push VisR τσ images discriminated a viscous spherical inclusion in a structured phantom with higher CNR over a larger axial range than single-push VisR or conventional acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) ultrasound. Finally, 2-D in vivo double-push VisR images in normal canine semitendinosus muscle were compared with spatially matched histochemistry to corroborate lower double-push VisR τσ values in highly collagenated connective tissue than in muscle, suggesting double-push VisR's in vivo relevance to diagnostic imaging, particularly in muscle. The key advantages and disadvantages to VisR, including lack of compensation for inertial terms, are discussed.

Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) Imaging of Zebrafish Embryo by High-Frequency Coded Excitation Sequence

Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging has been developed as a non-invasive method for quantitative illustration of tissue stiffness or displacement. Conventional ARFI imaging (2-10 MHz) has been implemented in commercial scanners for illustrating elastic properties of several organs. The image resolution, however, is too coarse to study mechanical properties of micro-sized objects such as cells. This article thus presents a high-frequency coded excitation ARFI technique, with the ultimate goal of displaying elastic characteristics of cellular structures. Tissue mimicking phantoms and zebrafish embryos are imaged with a 100-MHz lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) transducer, by cross-correlating tracked RF echoes with the reference. The phantom results show that the contrast of ARFI image (14 dB) with coded excitation is better than that of the conventional ARFI image (9 dB). The depths of penetration are 2.6 and 2.2 mm, respectively. The stiffness data of the zebrafish demonstrate that the envelope is harder than the embryo region. The temporal displacement change at the embryo and the chorion is as large as 36 and 3.6 μm. Consequently, this high-frequency ARFI approach may serve as a remote palpation imaging tool that reveals viscoelastic properties of small biological samples.

Frame Rate Considerations for Real-Time Abdominal Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging

With the advent of real-time Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) imaging, elevated frame rates are both desirable and relevant from a clinical perspective. However, fundamental limitations on frame rates are imposed by thermal safety concerns related to incident radiation force pulses. Abdominal ARFI imaging utilizes a curvilinear scanning geometry that results in markedly different tissue heating patterns than those previously studied for linear arrays or mechanically-translated concave transducers. Finite Element Method (FEM) models were used to simulate these tissue heating patterns and to analyze the impact of tissue heating on frame rates available for abdominal ARFI imaging. A perfusion model was implemented to account for cooling effects due to blood flow and frame rate limitations were evaluated in the presence of normal, reduced and negligible tissue perfusions. Conventional ARFI acquisition techniques were also compared to ARFI imaging with parallel receive tracking in terms of thermal efficiency. Additionally, thermocouple measurements of transducer face temperature increases were acquired to assess the frame rate limitations imposed by cumulative heating of the imaging array. Frame rates sufficient for many abdominal imaging applications were found to be safely achievable utilizing available ARFI imaging techniques.