Development of the measuring technique for ultrasonic attenuation distribution of tissues

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The acoustic characteristics in biological tissues provide important diagnostic and treatment planning information. Conventional methods of sound speed determination generally require that transducers make physical contact with specimens in order to measure thickness and ultrasonic signal in the time domain. A method for determination of the sound speed and attenuation is proposed in which the sound travel time in the sample and the difference in total signal from the transducer to the rigid reflector due to the presence of the sample are estimated in the frequency domain and which does not require physical contact of ultrasonic probes to living or freshly excised tissue specimens. Using this method, the sound speeds and attenuation of human heart tissues are measured precisely. The speed and attenuation of sound in normal hearts varied minimally between individuals and was not related to body weight or age. Change of sound speed and attenuation of heart tissues was associated with histological change of a heart. Ultrasonic speed and attenuation measurements in tissues verified the method validity in medical application.