Rabell Montiel Adela, Browne Jacinta E, Pye Stephen D, Anderson Tom A, Moran Carmel M
Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
School of Physics & IEO, FOCAS, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin, Ireland.
Ultrasound Med Biol. 2017 Jul;43(7):1494-1505. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2017.02.019. Epub 2017 Apr 24.
Commercially available ultrasound quality assurance test phantoms rely on the long-term acoustic stability of the tissue-mimicking-material (TMM). Measurement of the acoustic properties of the TMM can be technically challenging, and it is important to ensure its stability. The standard technique is to film-wrap samples of TMM and to measure the acoustic properties in a water bath. In this study, a modified technique was proposed whereby the samples of TMM are measured in a preserving fluid that is intended to maintain their characteristics. The acoustic properties were evaluated using a broadband pulse-echo substitution technique over the frequency range 4.5-50 MHz at 0, 6 and 12 months using both techniques. For both techniques, the measured mean values for the speed of sound and attenuation were very similar and within the International Electrotechnical Commission-recommended value. However, the results obtained using the proposed modified technique exhibited greater stability over the 1-y period compared with the results acquired using the standard technique.
市售的超声质量保证测试体模依赖于仿组织材料（TMM）的长期声学稳定性。测量TMM的声学特性在技术上可能具有挑战性，确保其稳定性很重要。标准技术是用薄膜包裹TMM样本并在水浴中测量声学特性。在本研究中，提出了一种改进技术，即TMM样本在旨在保持其特性的保存液中进行测量。使用宽带脉冲回波替代技术在0、6和12个月时对4.5 - 50 MHz频率范围内的声学特性进行了两种技术的评估。对于这两种技术，测得的声速和衰减平均值非常相似，且在国际电工委员会推荐值范围内。然而，与使用标准技术获得的结果相比，使用所提出的改进技术获得的结果在1年期间表现出更大的稳定性。
