An in vitro system for the study of ultrasound contrast agents using a commercial imaging system

V Sboros, C M Moran, T Anderson, L Gatzoulis, A Criton, M Averkiou, S D Pye, W N McDicken

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

An in vitro system for the investigation of the behaviour of contrast microbubbles in an ultrasound field, that provides a full diagnostic range of settings, is yet to be presented in the literature. The evaluation of a good compromise of such a system is presented in this paper. It is based on (a) an HDI3000 ATL scanner (Bothell, WA, USA) externally controlled by a PC and (b) on the use of well-defined reference materials. The suspensions of the reference ultrasonic scattering material are placed in an anechoic tank. The pulse length ranges from 2 to 10 cycles, the acoustic pressure from 0.08 to 1.8 MPa, the transmit frequency from 1 to 4.3 MHz, and the receive frequency from 1 to 8 MHz. The collection of 256 samples of RF data, at an offset distance from the transducer face, was performed at 20 MHz digitization rate, which corresponds to approximately 1 cm depth in water. Two particle suspensions are also presented for use as reference scatterers for contrast studies: (a) a suspension of Orgasol((R)) (ELF Atochem, Paris, France) particles (similar to5 mum mean diameter) and (b) a suspension of Eccosphere((R)) (New Metals & Chemicals Ltd, Essex, UK) particles (similar to 50 mum mean diameter). A preliminary experiment with the contrast agent Definity (DuPont Pharmaceutical Co, Waltham, MA) showed that the above two materials are suitable for use as a reference for contrast backscatter.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3301-3321
Number of pages21
JournalPhysics in Medicine and Biology
Volume46
Issue number12
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2001

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'An in vitro system for the study of ultrasound contrast agents using a commercial imaging system'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this