Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 20, Issue 6 605-612, Copyright © 2001 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Quantifying B-mode images of in vivo rat mammary tumors by the frequency dependence of backscatter
K. A. Topp, J. F. Zachary and W. D. O'Brien Jr
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana 61801, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the frequency dependence of ultrasonic backscatter
for its ability to differentiate between neoplastic and healthy tissue.
METHODS: Standard B-mode images were created of 5 rats with spontaneous
mammary tumors, and regions of interest in the lesion and surrounding
tissue were parameterized by the slope of the backscatter amplitude versus
frequency. RESULTS: In 4 of the 5 rats, the averaged backscatter slope of
the regions of interest in the tumor was significantly (P < .05)
different from that of the surrounding tissue, and the fifth case had a
moderate difference (P = .20). The consistency of the averaged slope values
(1.2-1.8 dB/MHz) across all but 1 of the mammary tumors was encouraging for
the prospect of identifying a tissue type by its backscatter slope.
CONCLUSIONS: This work suggests that characterization and diagnosis of
tissue types may be possible by using ultrasonographic images quantified by
the frequency dependence of backscatter.
