Arif Muhammad, Idzenga Tim, de Korte Chris L, van Mastrigt Ron
Department of Urology, Sector Furore, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Department of Urology, Sector Furore, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Urology. 2015 Mar;85(3):648-52. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2014.11.022.
To develop an ultrasound (US)-based method for noninvasive diagnosing of bladder outlet obstruction, and the relationship between decorrelation of sequential US images and the degree of obstruction in a urethra model was studied.
A flexible model of a male urethra was constructed from 15% aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol cryogel. To create 4 different degrees of obstruction, polyvinyl alcohol rings representing the prostate were placed around the model. Each model was perfused at different flow rates (1-15 mL/s) with an aqueous solution containing scattering particles mimicking urine. At each flow rate, 10 sequential US images were acquired. The average correlation coefficients between the images were calculated and plotted as a function of the degree of obstruction and the flow rate.
The average correlation decreased approximately linearly with an increase in the degree of obstruction. This decrease in correlation (decorrelation) might be due to turbulence caused by the obstruction. A higher degree of obstruction creates more turbulence and results in a higher decorrelation between sequential US images.
Quantification of the decorrelation between sequential US images may provide us with a new approach to noninvasively diagnose bladder outlet obstruction.
开发一种基于超声（US）的膀胱出口梗阻无创诊断方法，并研究尿道模型中连续超声图像的去相关性与梗阻程度之间的关系。
用15%的聚乙烯醇冷冻凝胶水溶液构建男性尿道的柔性模型。为造成4种不同程度的梗阻，在模型周围放置代表前列腺的聚乙烯醇环。每个模型以不同流速（1 - 15毫升/秒）灌注含有模拟尿液的散射颗粒的水溶液。在每个流速下，采集10幅连续的超声图像。计算图像之间的平均相关系数，并将其绘制为梗阻程度和流速的函数。
平均相关性随梗阻程度的增加大致呈线性下降。这种相关性的降低（去相关性）可能是由于梗阻引起的湍流所致。更高程度的梗阻会产生更多湍流，并导致连续超声图像之间的去相关性更高。
连续超声图像去相关性的量化可能为我们提供一种无创诊断膀胱出口梗阻的新方法。
