F. L. Lizzi Center for Biomedical Engineering, Riverside Research, New York, New York 10038, USA.
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA.
J Acoust Soc Am. 2021 Jul;150(1):183. doi: 10.1121/10.0005481.
Quantitative ultrasound methods based on the backscatter coefficient (BSC) and envelope statistics have been used to quantify disease in a wide variety of tissues, such as prostate, lymph nodes, breast, and thyroid. However, to date, these methods have not been investigated in the lung. In this study, lung properties were quantified by BSC and envelope statistical parameters in normal, fibrotic, and edematous rat lungs in vivo. The average and standard deviation of each parameter were calculated for each lung as well as the evolution of each parameter with acoustic propagation time within the lung. The transport mean free path and backscattered frequency shift, two parameters that have been successfully used to assess pulmonary fibrosis and edema in prior work, were evaluated in combination with the BSC and envelope statistical parameters. Multiple BSC and envelope statistical parameters were found to provide contrast between control and diseased lungs. BSC and envelope statistical parameters were also significantly correlated with fibrosis severity using the modified Ashcroft fibrosis score as the histological gold standard. These results demonstrate the potential for BSC and envelope statistical parameters to improve the diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis and edema as well as monitor pulmonary fibrosis.
基于背向散射系数 (BSC) 和包络统计的定量超声方法已被用于量化多种组织（如前列腺、淋巴结、乳房和甲状腺）的疾病。然而，迄今为止，这些方法尚未在肺部进行研究。在这项研究中，通过 BSC 和包络统计参数对正常、纤维化和水肿大鼠肺进行了定量分析。计算了每个肺的每个参数的平均值和标准差，以及每个参数随肺内声传播时间的演变。在此之前的研究中，已经成功地使用传输平均自由程和背向散射频率移用来评估肺纤维化和水肿，本研究将这两个参数与 BSC 和包络统计参数结合进行了评估。研究发现，多个 BSC 和包络统计参数可提供对照与病变肺之间的对比。BSC 和包络统计参数与纤维化严重程度也具有显著相关性，以改良 Ashcroft 纤维化评分作为组织学金标准。这些结果表明，BSC 和包络统计参数有可能改善肺纤维化和水肿的诊断，并监测肺纤维化。
