Scholz Martin, Noack Volker, Pechlivanis Ioannis, Engelhardt Martin, Fricke Britta, Linstedt Ulf, Brendel Bernhard, Ing Dipl, Schmieder Kirsten, Ermert Helmut, Harders Albrecht
Department of Neurosurgery, Ruhr University Bochum, In der Schornau 23-25, 44892 Bochum, Germany.
J Ultrasound Med. 2005 Jul;24(7):985-92. doi: 10.7863/jum.2005.24.7.985.
The aim of this study was to determine whether elastography, a sonographically based real-time strain imaging method for registering the elastic properties of tissue, can be used in brain tumor surgery.
A modification of classic elastography called vibrography was applied in these measurements with static compression replaced by low-frequency axial vibration. Twenty patients were examined with this technique during brain tumor surgery. A conventional sonographic system with a custom-designed radio frequency (RF) interface was used. The RF data were digitized with a 50-MHz, 12-bit peripheral component interconnect analog/digital converter for real-time or offline processing. Sonographic RF data were acquired with a 6.5-MHz endocavity curved array. A special applicator equipped with a stepping motor moved the ultrasonic probe and produced a low-frequency mechanical vibration of approximately 5 to 10 Hz with a vibration amplitude of 0.3 mm.
Detection of tumors was possible in 18 of 20 cases. Brain tissue was normally color coded orange or red. Three major groups of tumors with different elastic properties relative to brain tissue could be differentiated. In 3 cases, the stiffness of the tumor was identical to that of brain tissue, but the tumors were surrounded by a thin yellow border. Six tumors displayed higher strain than brain, whereas 7 tumors exhibited lower strain than the surrounding cerebrum. Two patients could not be assigned clearly to either of these groups.
These findings indicate that vibrography is a feasible imaging method for brain tumor surgery and may have numerous potential applications in neurosurgery if further improvements are made.
本研究旨在确定弹性成像技术（一种基于超声的实时应变成像方法，用于记录组织的弹性特性）是否可用于脑肿瘤手术。
在这些测量中应用了一种名为振动成像的经典弹性成像改良技术，用低频轴向振动取代了静态压缩。20例患者在脑肿瘤手术期间使用该技术进行了检查。使用了一个带有定制设计射频（RF）接口的传统超声系统。RF数据通过一个50MHz、12位的外围组件互连模拟/数字转换器进行数字化，以便进行实时或离线处理。超声RF数据通过一个6.5MHz的腔内弯曲阵列采集。一个配备步进电机的特殊探头移动超声探头，并产生频率约为5至10Hz、振动幅度为0.3mm的低频机械振动。
20例中有18例能够检测到肿瘤。脑组织通常被彩色编码为橙色或红色。相对于脑组织，可以区分出具有不同弹性特性的三大类肿瘤。在3例中，肿瘤的硬度与脑组织相同，但肿瘤周围有一条细黄色边界。6个肿瘤显示出比脑更高的应变，而7个肿瘤表现出比周围大脑更低的应变状态。2例患者无法明确归入这些组中的任何一组。
这些发现表明，振动成像对于脑肿瘤手术是一种可行的成像方法，如果进一步改进，可能在神经外科中有许多潜在应用。
