Dayton Paul A, Gessner Ryan C, Phillips Linsey, Shelton Sarah E, Heath Martin K, Lee Mike, Foster F Stuart
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2014;2014:4283-5. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2014.6944571.
Recently, it has been demonstrated that through the use of contrast agents and multi-frequency transducer technology, high resolution and high signal to noise ultrasound images can be obtained which illustrate microvascular structure in unprecedented detail for an ultrasound modality. The enabling technology is ultrasound transducers which are fabricated with elements which can excite microbubble contrast agents near resonance and detect their broadband harmonics at a much higher bandwidth (several times the fundamental frequency). The resulting images contain very little background from tissue scattering and thus provide high contrast, and can have a resolution on the order of 130 microns with an appropriate high frequency receiving element. Because microbubbles are strictly an intravascular agent, this approach enables visualization of microvascular morphology with unique clarity, providing insight into angiogenesis associated with tumor development.
最近的研究表明，通过使用造影剂和多频换能器技术，可以获得高分辨率和高信噪比的超声图像，以前所未有的细节展示超声模态下的微血管结构。实现这一技术的关键在于超声换能器，其元件能够在接近共振的状态下激发微泡造影剂，并在更高的带宽（基频的几倍）下检测其宽带谐波。由此产生的图像几乎没有来自组织散射的背景，因此具有高对比度，并且在使用适当的高频接收元件时，分辨率可达130微米左右。由于微泡严格来说是一种血管内造影剂，这种方法能够以独特的清晰度可视化微血管形态，为深入了解与肿瘤发展相关的血管生成提供了依据。
