Two-dimensional measurement of the nonlinearity parameter B/A in excised biological samples.

The method previously developed for measuring the acoustic nonlinearity parameter B/A in a liquid sample with a volume as small as 0.1 ml [S. Saito, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 127, 51(2010)] has been automated and applied to two-dimensional measurements of excised biological samples using a LabVIEW program. The focus of the sound beam is laterally shifted on the 3 × 3 mm(2) area of the sample while measuring the B/A successively. By displaying the result of 256 time repeated measurements with an interval of 0.2 mm in two dimensions, a C-mode image was generated for B/A. The images of linear properties such as density, sound speed, and attenuation coefficient are also obtained. The image, whose pattern can be different from those of the density and sound speed, has the capability to reveal the detailed structure of the B/A, which varies from region to region in a single biological sample. The application of the method to small samples is also demonstrated by measuring a thermally coagulated biological sample.