Contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging using acoustic radiation force, called contrast-enhanced active Doppler ultrasound (CEADUS) imaging, has been proposed for visualizing lymph channels filled with stationary fluid. Based on optical observations and acoustical evaluation, the behaviour of bubbles in a simulated channel during ultrasound exposure was investigated under four conditions for negative peak sound pressure (Pnp), at centre frequency of ultrasound and pulse repetition frequency of 15 MHz and 1 kHz, respectively. There was good correlation between the time changes of mean translational velocity for optical evaluation (VOPT) and acoustical evaluation (VUS). In addition, the maxima of VOPT and VUS were correlated (R = 0.665) and showed a similar trend proportional to the square of Pnp. These results strongly suggest that the acoustically-evaluated bubble translation has information equal to optically-evaluated one, meaning that the simultaneous observation system is useful to understand the bubble behaviours under CEADUS imaging.
In this report, a method is proposed to quantify the translation of ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) microbubbles driven by acoustic radiation for the detection of channels filled with stationary fluid. The authors subjected UCA microbubbles in a channel with diameters of 0.1 and 0.5 mm to ultrasound pulses with a center frequency of 14.4 MHz. The translational velocity of the UCA microbubbles increased with the sound pressure and pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of the transmitted ultrasound. The mean translational velocity reached 0.75 mm/s at a negative peak sound pressure of 2.76 MPa and a PRF of 2 kHz. This trend agreed with the theoretical prediction, which indicated that the translational velocity was proportional to the square of the sound pressure and the PRF. Furthermore, an experiment was carried out with a phantom that mimics tissue and found that the proposed method aided in detection of the channel, even in the case of a low contrast-echo to tissue-echo ratio. The authors expect to develop the proposed method into a technique for detecting lymph vessels.
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