Ultrasonic characterisation: prospects of tumour diagnosis.

Diagnosis with ultrasound energy, i.e. echography, has evolved to a valuable diagnostic tool. Although some tissue characterisation is possible with the ultrasonic technology at present available to the diagnostician, the physical potentials of echography are much higher. The interaction of ultrasound with biological tissues is elucidated to some extent in order to explain improvements in the tumour detection and differentiation by echography. These improvements arise from the processing and analysis of clinical echograms (extraction of texture parameters), the estimation of tissue signature parameters and acoustic histology.