Nightingale K R, Palmeri M L, Nightingale R W, Trahey G E
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA.
J Acoust Soc Am. 2001 Jul;110(1):625-34. doi: 10.1121/1.1378344.
A method of acoustic remote palpation, capable of imaging local variations in the mechanical properties of tissue, is under investigation. In this method, focused ultrasound is used to apply localized (on the order of 2 mm3) radiation force within tissue. and the resulting tissue displacements are mapped using ultrasonic correlation based methods. The tissue displacements are inversely proportional to the stiffness of the tissue, and thus a stiffer region of tissue exhibits smaller displacements than a more compliant region. In this paper, the feasibility of remote palpation is demonstrated experimentally using breast tissue phantoms with spherical lesion inclusions, and in vitro liver samples. A single diagnostic transducer and modified ultrasonic imaging system are used to perform remote palpation. The displacement images are directly correlated to local variations in tissue stiffness with higher contrast than the corresponding B-mode images. Relationships between acoustic beam parameters, lesion characteristics and radiation force induced tissue displacement patterns are investigated and discussed. The results show promise for the clinical implementation of remote palpation.
一种能够对组织力学特性的局部变化进行成像的声学远程触诊方法正在研究中。在这种方法中，聚焦超声用于在组织内施加局部化（约2立方毫米）的辐射力，并且使用基于超声相关性的方法来绘制由此产生的组织位移。组织位移与组织刚度成反比，因此较硬的组织区域比较柔顺的区域表现出更小的位移。在本文中，使用含有球形病变内含物的乳腺组织模型和体外肝脏样本通过实验证明了远程触诊的可行性。使用单个诊断换能器和改进的超声成像系统来进行远程触诊。位移图像与组织刚度的局部变化直接相关，其对比度高于相应的B模式图像。研究并讨论了声束参数、病变特征和辐射力引起的组织位移模式之间的关系。结果显示了远程触诊临床应用的前景。
