U.S. patent application number 09/272764 was filed with the patent office on 2001-09-13 for method and system for pressure estimation using subharmonic signals from microbubble-based ultrasound contrast agents.
Invention is credited to FORSBERG, FLEMMING, GOLDBERG, BARRY B., RAICHLEN, JOEL S., SHI, WILLIAM TAO.
Application Number | 20010021808 09/272764 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 22146433 |
Filed Date | 2001-09-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010021808 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
SHI, WILLIAM TAO ; et
al. |
September 13, 2001 |
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PRESSURE ESTIMATION USING SUBHARMONIC SIGNALS
FROM MICROBUBBLE-BASED ULTRASOUND CONTRAST AGENTS
Abstract
The present invention relates to the use of diagnostic
ultrasound and microbubble-based ultrasound contrast agents to
accomplish noninvasive subharmonic aided pressure estimation
(SHAPE) in the cavity of the heart, in other organs, and in major
blood vessels. Diagnostic ultrasound provides noninvasive,
real-time cross-sectional images and parameter estimations without
ionizing radiation and without the disadvantages and risks of
invasive methods of imaging and measurement. SHAPE is a
non-invasive, direct, and accurate method for pressure estimation
utilizing sub-harmonic or ultraharmonic signals from contrast
agents. In light of the advantages of diagnostic ultrasound, SHAPE
provides an economical alternative, a safe avenue, and an earlier
timetable for assessing the clinical condition of patients,
especially critically ill patients.
Inventors: |
SHI, WILLIAM TAO;
(HADDONFIELD, NJ) ; FORSBERG, FLEMMING;
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) ; GOLDBERG, BARRY B.;
(CONSHOHOCKEN, PA) ; RAICHLEN, JOEL S.; (BRYN
MAWR, PA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CLIFFORD KENT WEBER
THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COUNSEL
1020 WALNUT STREET SUITE 620
PHILADELPHIA
PA
191075587
|
Family ID: |
22146433 |
Appl. No.: |
09/272764 |
Filed: |
March 19, 1999 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60078823 |
Mar 20, 1998 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
600/438 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B 8/481 20130101;
A61B 8/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
600/438 |
International
Class: |
A61B 008/00; A61B
008/12; A61B 008/14 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A method of measuring pressure changes in a mammal, comprising:
application of a contrast agent containing microbubbles into said
mammal; an ultrasound system with analog or digital filtering for
detecting said microbubbles, said ultrasound system capable of
transmitting at least one ultrasound detection signal and capable
of receiving ultrasound signals that are scattered by said
microbubbles, wherein said ultrasound signals received by said
ultrasound system include at least one of the group of subharmonic
and ultraharmonic signals; and measurement of the amplitude of at
least one of the group of subharmonic and ultraharmonic signals to
estimate said pressure changes in said mammal.
2. A system for measuring pressure changes in a mammal, comprising:
an ultrasound system with analog or digital filtering for detecting
microbubbles, said ultrasound system capable of transmitting at
least one detecting signal and capable of receiving detection
signals that are scattered and returned by said microbubbles,
wherein said detection signals received by said ultrasound system
include at least one of the group of subharmonic and ultraharmonic
signals; said ultrasound system having at least one single-element
transducer for pressure estimation.
3. A system for measuring pressure changes in a mammal, comprising:
an ultrasound system with analog or digital filtering for imaging
microbubbles, said ultrasound system capable of transmitting at
least one detecting signal and capable of receiving detection
signals that are scattered and returned by said microbubbles,
wherein said detection signals received by said ultrasound system
include at least one of the group of subharmonic and ultraharmonic
signals; said ultrasound system having one of the group of a phase
transducer array with a capability of beam steering, a linear
transducer array with at least one transducer, or a curved
transducer array.
4. An ultrasound contrast agent used for pressure estimation with
said ultrasound contrast agent containing microbubbles, wherein
said microbubbles have a narrow band of size distribution and are
stable when circulating within a mammal bloodstream such that size
uniformity of said microbubbles is maintained during circulation
and said microbubbles are substantially compressible such that said
microbubbles change significantly in size in response to changes in
pressure and said response of said microbubbles to changes in
pressure maximizes the intensity of at least one of the group of
subharmonic and ultraharmonic signals scattered from said
microbubbles.
5. A method of using an ultrasound contrast agent containing
microbubbles to estimate pressure change in a mammal, comprising:
application of said microbubbles, wherein said microbubbles have a
narrow band of size distribution and are substantially compressible
such that said microbubbles change significantly in size in
response to changes in pressure; measurement of shifts in resonance
frequency of one of the group of subharmonic or ultraharmonic
signals received by an ultrasound system having analog or digital
filtering for detection of said microbubbles, wherein said
resonance frequency shifts result from changes in the size of said
microbubbles and said size changes correspond to changes in
hydrostatic pressure.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention generally relates to the field of
ultrasound imaging and methods of utilizing ultrasound contrast
agents containing microbubbles, and more particularly to the use of
such ultrasound contrast agents to accomplish noninvasive
sub-harmonic aided pressure estimation inside the human body,
especially in the cavities of the heart and in major vessels (e.g.,
the portal vein).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Diagnostic ultrasound has become a very successful modality
in clinical radiology because ultrasound imaging and measurement
can provide noninvasive, real-time cross-sectional images and
parameter estimations of soft tissue structures and blood flow
without ionizing radiation. The advantages of noninvasive methods
of imaging and measurement over invasive methods of imaging and
measurement include the following: 1) the patient is not subjected
to a general procedure involving penetrating the body nor is the
patient subjected to the risks associated with an invasive imaging
procedure, such as catherization; 2) where imaging and measurement
are necessary to assess a patient's condition, noninvasive imaging
and measurement are less dangerous alternatives, particularly when
the patient's clinical condition is too unstable to permit an
invasive procedure; 3) noninvasive imaging and measurement may
better enable treating physicians and surgeons to provide an
earlier and more focused method of intervention, thereby leading to
a safer avenue and an earlier timetable for stabilization of
critically ill patients, and 4) noninvasive imaging and measurement
can significantly reduce the cost of clinical examinations.
[0003] Currently there are no methods available for direct
noninvasive measurement of internal cavity pressure. Noninvasive
pressure estimation in the cavities of the heart and in major
vessels (e.g., the portal vein) would provide clinicians with a
valuable tool for assessing patients with valvular heart disease,
congestive heart failure and various vascular diseases. Measurement
of cavity pressure is important in determining blood flow in the
cardiovascular system. Accurate pressure estimation is a key
parameter in assisting minute-to-minute settings for patients in
intensive care settings. Such measurements would inform the
physician of altered physiologic states caused by disease,
especially where pressure has become abnormally high or abnormally
low. These pressure measurements may be especially useful in
emergency settings.
[0004] Some microbubble-based ultrasound contrast agents are
particularly well suited for pressure measurements because their
substantial compressibility enables the microbubbles to vary
significantly in size in response to changes in pressure. Pressure
changes in turn affect reflectivity of microbubbles after
intravenous injection of a contrast agent. It is known that the
diagnostic capabilities of ultrasound imaging can be improved by
intravenous injection of ultrasound contrast agents (Ophir, J. and
Parker, K. J. Contrast Agents in Diagnostic Ultrasound. Ultrasound
Med Biol 15: 319-325, 1989; Goldberg, B. B., Liu, J. B. and
Forsberg, F. Ultrasound Contrast Agents: A Review. Ultrasound Med
Biol 20: 319-333, 1994). Most contrast agents consist of
microbubbles of less than 10 .mu.m in diameter in order to
circulate through capillaries (Needleman, L. and Forsberg, F.
Contrast Agents in Ultrasound. Ultrasound Quarterly 13: 121-138,
1996). Such microbubbles can significantly enhance the backscatter
from blood. Moreover, the nonlinear properties of these
microbubbles can be used to create new harmonic and subharmonic
imaging modalities (Schrope, B. A., and Newhouse, V. L., Second
Harmonic Ultrasound Blood Perfusion Measurement. Ultrasound Med
Biol 19: 567-579, 1993; Shi, W. T., Forsberg, F. and Goldberg, B.
B. Subharmonic Imaging with Gas-filled Microbubbles, J Acoust Soc
Am 101, 3139(abstract), 1997) for detection of blood flow in small
or even capillary blood vessels surrounded by stationary or moving
tissue.
[0005] Contrast microbubbles are often stabilized with a coating of
surfactants or with encapsulating elastic shells. (de Jong, N.,
Hoff, L., Skotland, T. and Bom, N. Absorption and Scatter of
Encapsulated Gas Filled Microspheres: Theoretical Considerations
and Some Measurements. Ultrasonics 30: 95-103, 1996). The materials
on the bubble surface will greatly influence the response of the
contrast microbubbles to hydrostatic pressure changes. De Jong and
colleagues investigated the effect of the static ambient pressure
on the size change of Albunex.RTM. (Molecular Biosystems Inc., San
Diego, Calif.) and Quantison.TM. (Andaris Ltd., Nottingham, UK)
microbubbles. (de Jong, N., Ten Cate, F. J., Vletter, W. B. and
Roelandt, J. R. T. C. (1993). Quantification of Transpulmonary
Echocontrast Effects. Ultrasound Med Biol 19: 279-288; de Jong, N.
(1996). Improvements in Ultrasound Contrast Agents. IEEE Eng Med
Biol Mag 15: 72-82). Most of the Albunex encapsulated microbubbles
shrunk and disappeared due to over-pressure, while the Quantison
gas-filled microparticles were insensitive to pressure changes due
to their rigid shells.
[0006] The reflectivity of microbubble contrast agents at the
transmit frequency has been found to vary with the hydrostatic
blood pressure. Videodensity variations measured during a cardiac
cycle in both the ventricles and especially in the left ventricle
indicated a large pressure dependence for microbubbles based on
sonicated albumin. (Shapiro, J. S., Reisner, S. A., Lichtenberg, G.
S. and Meltzer, R. S. Intravenous Contrast Echocardiography with
Use of Sonicated Albumin in Humans: Systolic Disappearance of Left
Ventricular Contrast after Transpulmonary Transmission. J Am Coll
Cardiol 7: 1603-1607, 1990; de Jong et al. Quantification of
Transpulmonary Echocontrast Effects. Ultrasound Med Biol 19:
279-288, 1993). This was further confirmed by Gottlieb et al. in an
in vitro model. (Gottlieb, S., Ernst, A. and Meltzer, R. S. Effect
of Pressure on Echocardio-graphic Videodensity from Sonicated
Albumin: An in vitro Model. J Ultrasound Med 14: 101-108, 1995).
The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the acoustic transmittance of
an Albunex microbubble suspension was studied by Brayman et al
(1996), who found that the acoustic transmittance increased with
hydrostatic pressure. (Brayman, A. A., Azadniv, M., Miller, M. W.
and Meltzer, R. S. Effect of Static Pressure on Acoustic
Transmittance of Albunex Microbubble Suspensions. J Acoust Soc Am
99: 2403-2408, 1996). This effect could be caused by the
destruction of many of the microbubbles at a pressure comparable to
those produced in the heart. The reflectivity of some other agents
such as Levovist.RTM. (Schering AG, Berlin, Germany) was reported
to be less sensitive to pressure changes. (Schlief, R.
Galactose-based Echo-enhancing agents in Ultrasound Contrast
Agents, edit by Barry B. Goldberg, Martin Dunitz Ltd, London. pp
75-82, 1997).
[0007] There are many interesting bubble oscillations which span
the range of possible frequency emissions from subharmonics (as
well as ultraharmonics) through higher harmonics (Lauterborn, W.
Numerical Investigation of Nonlinear Oscillations of Gas Bubble in
Liquids. J Acoust Soc Am 59: 283-293, 1976). Subharmonic
oscillation (or ultraharmonic oscillation) of a free bubble occurs
only when the exciting acoustic signal exceeds a certain threshold
level (Prosperetti, A. Nonlinear Oscillations of Gas Bubble in
Liquids: Transient Solutions and the Connection between Subharmonic
Signal and Cavitation, J Acoust Soc Am 57: 810-821, 1975;
Prosperetti, A. Application of the Subharmonic Threshold to the
Measurement of the Damping of Oscillating Gas Bubbles. J Acoust Soc
Am 61: 11 16, 1977; Leighton, T. G., The Acoustic Bubble. Academic
Press, London, Great Britain, 1994), while the generation of higher
harmonics is a continuous process and occurs to various degree for
all levels of excitation. Eller and Flynn estimated the threshold
acoustic pressure required for subharmonic generation from a
spherical bubble driven by a sinusoidal pressure field. (Eller, A.
and Flynn, H. G. Generation of Subharmonics of Order One-Half by
Bubble in a Sound Field. J Acoust Soc Am 46: 722-727, 1969). They
found that the threshold pressure showed a pronounced minimum for
bubbles which are close to twice the size of those resonant with
the insonifying field. Neppiras (1968) experimentally studied the
subharmonic emission from free gas bubbles subjected to sound field
with intensities up to the transient cavitation threshold.
(Neppiras, E. A. Subharmonic and Other Low-Frequency Emission from
Bubbles in Sound-Irradiated Liquids. J Acoust Soc Am 46: 587-601,
1968). The subharmonic emission of a free gas bubble under
two-frequency excitation was measured by Leighton et al (1991) and
Phelps and Leighton (1996) for the determination of the bubble
size. (Leighton, T. G., Lingard, R. J., Walton, A. J. and Field, J.
E. Acoustic Bubble Sizing by Combination of Subharmonic Emission
with Imaging Frequency. Ultrasonics 29; 319-323, 1991; Phelps, A.
D., and Leighton, T. G. High-Resolution Bubble Sizing through
Detection of the Subharmonic Response with a Two-Frequency
Excitation Technique. J Acoust Soc Am 99: 1985-1992, 1996).
[0008] Microbubble-based agents not only produce helpful
enhancement of backscattered signals but also generate significant
superharmonics and subharmonics of incident ultrasound waves. The
subharmonic of the order 1/2 and ultraharmonic of the order 3/2
were observed in the spectrum of insonated Levovist microbubbles by
Schrope et al. (Schrope, B. A., Newhouse, V. L. and Uhlendorf. V.
Simulated Capillary Blood Flow Measurement Using a Nonlinear
Ultrasonic Contrast Agent. Ultrasonic Imaging 14: 134-158, 1992).
Chang et al. acquired a Doppler power spectrum of the subharmonic
response of Albunex microbubbles. (Chang, P. H., Shung, K. K., Wu,
S. and Levene, H. B. Second Harmonic Imaging and Harmonic Doppler
Measurements with Albunex, "IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelec Freq
Contr 42: 1020-1027, 1995). Lotsberg et al. investigated the
subharmonic emission of Albunex and found no sharp threshold as
expected from theory for free bubbles. (Lotsberg, O., Hovem, J. M.
and Aksum, B. Experimental Observation of Subharmonic Oscillations
in Infoson Bubbles. J Acoust Soc Am 99: 1366-1369, 1996). Shi et
al. investigated the subharmonic response of a surfactant-coated
microbubble agent to different transmit ultrasound pulses. (Shi, W.
T., Forsberg, F., Gupta, M., Alessandro, J., Wheatley, M. A. and
Goldberg, B. B. Subharmonic Response of a New US Contrast Agent.
Radiology 205(P): 353 (abstract), 1997). Shankar et al. (1998)
found that the ratio of the subharmonic signal scattered from
contrast microbubbles to that from soft tissues is greater than the
microbubble-to-tissue ratio of the second harmonic signals.
(Shankar, P. M., Krishna, P. D. and Newhouse, V. L. Advantages of
Subharmonic over Second Harmonic Backscatter for Contrast-to-tissue
Echo Enhancement. Ultrasound Med Biol 24: 395-399, 1998).
[0009] The most important factor responsible for the use of
microbubbles as contrast agents lies in the difference in
compressibility between the bubble and the surrounding medium. For
a bubble filled with an ideal gas (e.g., air) at atmospheric
pressure, the compressibility is nearly 16,000 times greater than
the compressibility of water. This allows microbubbles to change
substantially in size in response to pressure changes. Changes in
the size, in turn, should affect the reflectivity of microbubble
contrast agents. This suggests that the intensity of scattered
contrast signals may be utilized for the noninvasive detection of
pressure changes. The noninvasive estimation of pressures in heart
cavities and major vessels would provide clinicians with an
invaluable tool for assessing patients with cardiac and vascular
diseases, including valvular heart disease, congestive heart
failure, portal hypertension and various other vascular diseases.
Currently, only the maximum pressure difference across the valves
of the heart can be measured non-invasively using Doppler
ultrasound and the Bernoulli equation. (Evans, D. H., McDicken, W.
N., Skidmore, R. and Woodcock, J. P. Doppler Ultrasound: Physics,
Instrumentation and Clinical Applications. John Wiley & Sons,
London, UK, 1989).
[0010] The dependence of harmonic and sub-harmonic responses on
hydrostatic pressure has been studied. (Shi, W. T., Raichlen, J.
S., Forsberg, F. and Goldberg, B. B. Effect of Ambient Pressure
Change on Subharmonic Response of Microbubbles. J Ultrasound Med,
S55: (abstract), 1998; Shi W T, Forsberg F, Raichlen J S, Needleman
L, Goldberg B B. Pressure dependence of subharmonic signals from
contrast microbubbles. Ultrasound Med Biol 25: 275-283, 1999). In
the present invention, results with a galactose-based contrast
agent indicate that, over the pressure range of 0-186 mmHg, the
subharmonic amplitude of scattered signals decrease by around 10 dB
under optimal acoustic settings while the first and second harmonic
amplitudes decrease only an average about 2 dB. An excellent
correlation (r=0.98) between the subharmonic amplitude and the
hydrostatic pressure demonstrates that the subharmonic signal is an
excellent indicator for noninvasive detection of pressure changes.
The correlation (r=0.98) between the subharmonic amplitude and the
hydrostatic pressure was obtained at the growth stage of
subharmonic generation.
[0011] Based on the measurements made, a technique called SHAPE
(SubHarmonic-Aided Pressure Estimation) is described in the present
invention. SHAPE is a non-invasive, accurate, and direct technique
to measure changes in pressure. This technique can be implemented
in both penetration and resolution modes in a stand-alone system or
in a modified commercial medical ultrasound scanner.
[0012] SHAPE allows the clinician to use a non-invasive method of
obtaining pulmonary pressures, as well as pressure gradients in the
heart. Likewise, SHAPE permits clinicians to follow patients with
portal hypertension and associated complications (which may include
death) and, therefore, permits earlier intervention to prevent
serious complications. Additionally SHAPE enables clinicians to
obtain the very important clinical measurement of post-stenotic
pressure reductions in patients with claudication (e.g. in the head
or kidneys).
[0013] In summary SHAPE is a much better approach for pressure
measurement than any currently available methods of pressure
measurement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] It is an object of the present invention to provide a direct
noninvasive measurement of hydrostatic pressure. It is a further
object of the present invention to take a new approach to
noninvasive pressure estimation in the cavities of the heart and in
major vessels (e.g., the portal vein) to provide clinicians with a
valuable tool for assessing patients with various diseases,
including but not limited to, valvular heart disease, congestive
heart failure, portal hypertension, and other vascular
diseases.
[0015] It is a further object of the present invention to provide
new techniques to estimate internal pressure variations with a
microbubble-based ultrasound contrast agent by transmitting at one
frequency but receiving only at subharmonic (or ultraharmonic)
frequencies with analog or digital filtering techniques. The
invention can be implemented in both the resolution and penetration
modes as a stand alone system or in a modified commercial
ultrasound scanner.
[0016] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
method of measuring pressure changes in a mammal, comprising:
application of a contrast agent containing microbubbles into said
mammal; an ultrasound system with analog or digital filtering for
detecting said microbubbles, said ultrasound system capable of
transmitting at least one ultrasound detection signal and capable
of receiving ultrasound signals that are scattered by said
microbubbles, wherein said ultrasound signals received by said
ultrasound system include at least one of the group of subharmonic
and ultraharmonic signals; and measurement of the amplitude of at
least one of the group of subharmonic and ultraharmonic signals to
estimate said pressure changes in said mammal.
[0017] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
system for measuring pressure changes in a mammal, comprising: an
ultrasound system with analog or digital filtering for detecting
microbubbles, said ultrasound system capable of transmitting at
least one detecting signal and capable of receiving detection
signals that are scattered and returned by said microbubbles,
wherein said detection signals received by said ultrasound system
include at least one of the group of subharmonic and ultraharmonic
signals; said ultrasound system having at least one single-element
transducer for pressure estimation.
[0018] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
system for measuring pressure changes in a mammal, comprising: an
ultrasound system with analog or digital filtering for imaging
microbubbles, said ultrasound system capable of transmitting at
least one detecting signal and capable of receiving detection
signals that are scattered and returned by said microbubbles,
wherein said detection signals received by said ultrasound system
include at least one of the group of subharmonic and ultraharmonic
signals; said ultrasound system having one of the group of a phase
transducer array with a capability of beam steering, a linear
transducer array with at least one transducer, or a curved
transducer array.
[0019] It is another object of the present invention to provide an
ultrasound contrast agent used for pressure estimation with said
ultrasound contrast agent containing microbubbles, wherein said
microbubbles have a narrow band of size distribution and are stable
when circulating within a mammal bloodstream such that size
uniformity of said microbubbles is maintained during circulation
and said microbubbles are substantially compressible such that said
microbubbles change significantly in size in response to changes in
pressure and said response of said microbubbles to changes in
pressure maximizes the intensity of at least one of the group of
subharmonic and ultraharmonic signals scattered from said
microbubbles.
[0020] It is another object of the present invention to provide A
method of using an ultrasound contrast agent containing
microbubbles to estimate pressure change in a mammal, comprising:
application of said microbubbles, wherein said microbubbles have a
narrow band of size distribution and are substantially compressible
such that said microbubbles change significantly in size in
response to changes in pressure; measurement of shifts in resonance
frequency of one of the group of subharmonic or ultraharmonic
signals received by an ultrasound system having analog or digital
filtering for detection of said microbubbles, wherein said
resonance frequency shifts result from changes in the size of said
microbubbles and said size changes correspond to changes in
hydrostatic pressure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] FIG. 1. Electronic part of the measurement system
[0022] FIG. 2. Acoustic parts of the measurement system
[0023] FIG. 3. Resonance response of Levovist
[0024] FIG. 4. Time histories and spectra of scattered signals
[0025] FIG. 5. Subharmonic response of Levovist
[0026] FIG. 6. Spectra at different acoustic pressures
[0027] FIG. 7. Amplitude reduction versus over-pressure
[0028] FIG. 8. Subharmonic reduction versus concentration
[0029] FIG. 9. Subharmonic reduction versus acoustic pressure
[0030] FIG. 10. A flow system for the test of SHAPE
[0031] FIG. 11. The first and second and subharmonic amplitudes
versus time
[0032] FIG. 12. Stand-alone systems
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0033] The present invention relates to ultrasound contrast agents
containing microbubbles to accomplish noninvasive subharmonic aided
pressure estimation in the cavities of the heart, in other organs,
and in major vessels (e.g., the portal vein). The pressure
dependence of subharmonic signals from contrast microbubbles was
determined with the measurement system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0034] The block diagram of the electronic part of the measurement
system is presented in FIG. 1. A programmable function generator
(Model 8116A, Hewlett Packard, Santa Clara, Calif.) produced pulses
for transmission. The transmit signals were first amplified in a
broadband 50 dB RF power amplifier (Model 325LA, ENI, Rochester
N.Y.) and then supplied to an acoustic transmit transducer. Signals
scattered from contrast microbubbles were sensed by a receive
transducer and amplified with a low noise RF amplifier (Model 5052
PR, Parametrics, Waltham, Mass.). The amplified signals were then
digitized using a digital oscilloscope equipped with mathematical
functions (Model 9350AM, LeCroy, Chestnut Ridge, N.Y.). The
digitized signals were further processed with the FFT spectrum
analysis in the digital oscilloscope. The amplitude of the harmonic
and subharmonic signal components were obtained from spectra
averaged over 64 sequences. The command delivery to the function
generator and the data transfer from the digital oscilloscope were
controlled by a personal computer via LabView.RTM. (National
Instruments, Austin, Tex.).
[0035] The acoustic setup for the measurement of acoustic
attenuation is given in FIG. 2(a). A single-element flat transducer
(Etalon Inc., Lebanon, Ind.) was used as both the ultrasound
transmitter and receiver. This transducer has a diameter of 2.5 cm
and a center frequency of 3.6 MHz with 98% bandwidth. A
Transmit/Receive switch (Model RDX-6, Ritec Inc., Warwick, R.I.)
was employed to separate transmit and receive signals. Crosstalk
from the transmit signals was eliminated with a double-mixer range
gate. A flat stainless steel plate was placed in the front of the
transducer as an acoustic reflector. Both the transducer and the
reflector were put in a container filled with 1.0 liter of water.
Short pulses with a duration of 0.16 ms (6.0 MHz, 1 cycle) were
sent at a PRF (Pulse Repetition Frequency) of 5 Hz. The traveling
distance of the ultrasound pulses was limited to 5 cm to minimize
the influence of diffraction (mostly beam expansion) owing to the
limited aperture of the transducer. The acoustic attenuation of a
contrast agent suspension as a function of frequency was determined
by subtracting the average spectrum of received signals prior to
injection of the contrast agent from the spectrum after the
injection.
[0036] The subharmonic response of contrast microbubbles to
different transmit pulses at atmospheric pressure was investigated
using two single-element focused transducers, as shown in FIG.
2(b). A transducer with a bandwidth of 38% and a center frequency
of 2.2 MHz (Staveley, East Hartford, Conn.) was used as transmitter
and another transducer with a bandwidth of 86% and a center
frequency of 3.6 MHz (Etalon, Lebanon, Ind.) as receiver. Both
transducers have a diameter of 2.5 cm and a focal length of 5.0
cm.sup.2. They were positioned confocally at the right angle to
each other and place in a container filled with 1.0 liter of water.
This transducer arrangement substantially enhances the spatial
resolution of the acoustic measurements. Because the size of
microbubbles are much smaller than the acoustic wavelength, the
scattering pattern from the microbubbles will be isotropic, i.e.,
the waveforms of 90.degree.-scattered signals should be very
similar to those of the backscattered echoes. The acoustic output
of the transmit transducer was calibrated in water using a 0.5 mm
broadband acoustic hydrophone (Precision Acoustics Ltd.,
Dorchester, UK).
[0037] The subharmonic response at different static pressures was
measured using a sealed 2.25 liter water tank that can sustain
pressure changes at least 200 mmHg, as shown in FIG. 2(c). The same
transducer pair as shown in FIG. 2(b) was employed. The two
transducers are positioned at an angle of about 60.degree. to each
other. A thin plastic acoustic window was constructed on the wall
of the tank for acoustic transmission. The tank was immersed in a
water bath where temperature can be controlled. The pressure inside
the tank was monitored by a pressure gauge (OMEGA Engineering Inc.,
Stamford, Conn.). An inlet and an outlet on the tank were
constructed for injecting microbubble suspensions and applying
extra hydrostatic pressures.
[0038] All measurements were carried out with injection of a
suspension of specially made Levovist (Batch 61139for in-vitro use
only) into water at room temperature (around 25.degree. C.).
Levovist is a galactose-based contrast agent with 98% of all
microbubbles less than 10 .mu.m in diameter. The Levovist
suspension is made by adding 12 ml distilled water into one vial of
2.5 gram Levovist granules, shaking it vigorously for about 10
seconds, and leave it to stand for about 2 minutes. Water is
utilized as the carrying and propagation medium. The water in the
containers was kept in circulation by a magnetic stirrer.
[0039] The resonance response of Levovist microbubble suspensions
were investigated since the subharmonic emission depends on the
resonance of contrast microbubbles. According to free bubble
theory, a bubble is a much better scatterer with relatively strong
subharmonic emission when the bubble is insonified at its resonance
frequency. The resonance response of a contrast agent is related to
both the size distribution of the microbubbles and the resonance
response of each individual microbubbles. A simple way to quantify
the resonant response of a contrast agent is to determine its
acoustic attenuation as a function of frequency (de Jong et al.
Absorption and Scatter of Encapsulated Gas Filled Microspheres:
Theoretical Considerations and Some Measurements. Ultrasonics 30:
95-103, 1992; Cachard, C., Bouakkaz, A. and Gimenez, G. In Vitro
Evaluation of Acoustic Properties of Ultrasound Contrast Agents:
Experimental Set-up and Signal Processing. Ultrasonics 34: 595-598,
1996). Acoustic attenuation of each Levovist microbubble suspension
was measured using the acoustic arrangement shown in FIG. 2(a). It
was observed that the attenuation increased by approximately a
factor of two when the injection dose was doubled. The resonance
response of a Levovist suspension with a concentration of 0.31 gram
Levovist granules per a liter of water (gram/liter) is given in
FIG. 3. The measurements were carried out with an injection of 1.5
ml Levovist suspension into 1.0 liter water. FIG. 3 shows a good
resonance response for Levovist in the frequency range from 1.0 to
5.0 MHz with the peak resonance frequency of around 3.0 MHz.
[0040] The harmonic and subharmonic responses of Levovist
microbubbles to ultrasound pulses at atmospheric pressure were
investigated with the acoustic arrangement shown in FIG. 2(b). The
experimental design has the advantage that scattered signals only
come from the microbubbles in the small confocal region of the
transmit and receive transducers. Therefore the influence of axial
acoustic pressure distribution on acoustic pulses of different
lengths is minimized. The ultrasound pluses were transmitted at a
center frequency of 2.0 MHz because of both strong resonance
response and the fast increase in resonance response with frequency
at 2 MHz. It is expected that the first harmonic response at 2 MHz
will decrease as the ambient pressure is raised. The curve of the
resonance response in FIG. 3 will be shifted to the right side in
response to overall size reduction of the microbubbles due to the
increase in hydrostatic pressure.
[0041] Time histories of scattered signals for 16-cycle and
64-cycle transmit ultrasound pulses were recorded, as shown in
FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), respectively, for a concentration of 0.083
gram/liter. The response of the contrast microbubbles took around 3
acoustic cycles to grow to their full oscillation amplitudes. This
indicates that short transmit pulses with 2-4 cycles in length can
be utilized to generate sufficient subharmonic signals. The strong
subharmonic response to transmit pulse of 4-32 cycles was found for
ST68 contrast microbubbles (Shi et al. Subharmonic Response of a
New US Contrast Agent. Radiology 205(P): 353 (abstract), 1997).
ST68 is an experimental agent produced by Dr. Wheatley and her
colleagues at Drexel university. (Wheatley, M. A., Peng, S.,
Singhal, S. and Goldberg, B. B. (1993). Surfactant-stabilized
Microbubble Mixtures, Process for Preparing and methods of Using
the Same. U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,436). In both FIGS. 4(a) and (b), the
subharmonic modulation at every two transmit acoustic periods is
observed with high and low peaks interlacing. The corresponding
spectra are given in FIGS. 4(c) and 4(d), respectively. Significant
discrete subharmonic components of the order 1/2 can be seen for
both 16-cycle and 64-cycle transmit pulse. This indicates that both
short and long pulses may be utilized to generate sufficient
subharmonic signals. In the following experiments, 64-cycle
transmit pulses were employed. The use of long transmit pulses not
only enhanced signal-to-noise ratio for the subharmonic components
in received scattered signals, but also helped reduce the transient
effect of the pulse length on the harmonic and subharmonic
responses.
[0042] The amplitude of the subharmonic component as a function of
incident acoustic pressure is plotted in FIG. 5. The experiments
were conducted using Levovist suspensions with a concentration of
0.10 gram/liter. The first and second harmonic components were
found to increase gradually with the acoustic pressure although the
second harmonic component increases at a greater rate. In FIG. 5,
the subharmonic component acts quite different with a rapid growth
in the intermediate acoustic pressure range of around 0.3-0.6 MPa.
The subharmonic component increase with acoustic pressure at much
slower rates at both lower and higher acoustic pressures. Standard
deviations in the measurements were mainly caused by the decay of
microbubble reflectivity with time.
[0043] Subharmonic generation can be divided into three stages:
occurrence, growth and saturation. In the occurrence stage (where
the acoustic pressure is less than 0.3 MPa), the subharmonic
component is insignificant. Such weak subharmonic response is
demonstrated in the spectrum for an acoustic pressure of 0.23 MPa,
as shown in FIG. 6(a). The peaks around 3.3 and 4.7 MHz are RF
interference signals from air. This stage was not observed for the
subharmonic response of free bubbles (Eller and Flynn. Generation
of Subharmonics of Order One-Half by Bubble in a Sound Field. J
Acoust Soc Am 46: 722-727, 1969; Neppiras, E. A. Subharmonic and
Other Low-Frequency Emission from Bubbles in Sound-Irradiated
Liquids. J Acoust Soc Am 46: 587-601, 1968). In the growth stage
(where the acoustic pressure ranges 0.3-0.6 MPa), the subharmonic
component grows with the acoustic pressure and usually has a high
amplitude above the noise floor, as indicated in FIG. 6(b). The
subharmonic signals at this stage may be utilized for subharmonic
imaging and hydrostatic pressure estimation. As the acoustic
pressure was increased, the growth of the subharmonic component
became saturated. The noise floor was substantially raised due to
bubble destruction (Shi, W. T., Forsberg, F. and Oung, H. Spectral
Broadening in Conventional and Harmonic Doppler Measurements with
Gaseous Contrast Agents. Proc 1997 IEEE Ultrason Symp, 1575-1578,
1997; Shi, W. T., Forsberg F, Everbach EC. Acoustic detection of
microbubble destruction in gaseous contrast agents, Proc 16.sup.th
International Congress on Acoustics, pp2189-2190, 1998; Dayton, P.
A., Morgan, K., Klibanov, A. L., Brandenburger, G. and Ferrara, K.
W. Simultaneous Optical and Acoustical Observation of Contrast
Agents, Proc 1997 IEEE Ultrason Symp, 1583-1591, 1997), as
demonstrated in FIG. 6(c). In this stage, the signal-to-noise ratio
of subharmonic signals was greatly reduced.
[0044] Subharmonic response of microbubbles at different
hydrostatic pressures was investigated with the experimental setup
shown in FIG. 2(c). The influence of the acoustic window on the
subharmonic response at atmospheric pressure was initially tested
by repeating the measurements described in the previous section.
The experiments were carried out with an injection of 6.0 ml
Levovist suspension into the 2.25 liter tank. The measured results
were found to be very similar to the curve in FIG. 5. The acoustic
penetration loss through the acoustic window on the tank wall was
mostly compensated by the increase in acoustic output and the
concentration of Levovist suspensions (raised to 0.56 gram/liter).
By comparing the measurements in the seal tank with the data in
FIG. 5, we were able to calibrate the transmit acoustic pressure
inside the pressure tank.
[0045] The reductions in the first and second harmonic and
subharmonic amplitudes at different over-pressures are demonstrated
in FIG. 7 for a concentration of 0.56 gram/liter. During the
experiments, the acoustic pressure amplitude was kept at 0.39MPa.
Over the over-pressure range of 0-186 mm Hg (which is the same as
the range of human blood pressure variation), the first and second
harmonic amplitudes decrease only 2.4 and 1.8 dB on average,
respectively. This result is similar to the gray-scale measurements
reported by Schlief (1997). On the other hand, over the same
over-pressure range the subharmonic amplitude of scattered signals
dropped by an average of 9.6 dB. An excellent correlation (r=0.98)
between the subharmonic amplitude and static over-pressure was
achieved. This correlation suggests that the dependence of the
subharmonic amplitude on hydrostatic pressure can be employed for
non-invasive pressure estimation.
[0046] The stability of Levovist in over-pressurized environment
was tested with the following measurements: first, the average
spectrum of 64 scattered signals was taken at atmospheric pressure;
then, the microbubbles underwent a up-and-down pressurization, the
average spectrum was again measured. During the up-and-down
pressurization, the ambient pressure was raised to 200 mmHg and
then reduced back to atmospheric pressure. The change in the
amplitudes of subharmonic component in the spectra recorded before
and after the up-and-down pressurization was found to be less than
0.8 dB. This means that Levovist can retain its strength of
scattered signals after experiencing the up-and down pressurization
up to 0-200 mmHg. The stability of Levovist is probably due to the
effect of the fatty acid on gaseous diffusion (Schlief, R.
Galactose-based Echo-enhancing agents in Ultrasound Contrast
Agents, edit by Barry B. Goldberg, Martin Dunitz Ltd, London. pp
75-82, 1997).
[0047] The influence of the microbubble concentration on
subharmonic reduction was investigated with acoustic pressure
amplitude kept at 0.39MPa. FIG. 8 shows the subharmonic reduction
at two constant over-pressures (100 and 200 mmHg) as a function of
the received subharmonic signal amplitude at atmospheric pressure.
The received signal amplitude is approximately proportional to the
concentration of Levovist suspensions at lower concentrations.
During a period of around 30 minutes, a total of 1 vial of Levovist
suspension was injected. The concentration was increased from 0.56
to 2.0 gram/liter. The actual concentrations were lower than the
administrated concentration due to microbubble degeneration over
time. The subharmonic reduction was shown to increase slightly as
the received subharmonic signal amplitude at atmospheric pressure
(which is correlated to the microbubble concentration) was more
than tripled. This feature will be very important for pressure
estimation because the subharmonic reduction in logarithm scale is
almost independent of the absolute values of the received
subharmonic amplitude.
[0048] The reductions in the subharmonic amplitude due to the
pressure increases of 100 and 200 mmHg as a function of acoustic
pressure amplitude was given in FIG. 9. During the one-hour long
measurement, a total of 2 vials of Levovist suspension was
injected. The pressure-induced subharmonic reduction increased with
the transmit ultrasound amplitude up to 0.39MPa while the acoustic
pressure amplitude covered the occurrence and growth stages of
subharmonic generation. Afterwards the subharmonic reduction
decreased due to the subharmonic saturation and the noise level
elevation. Subharmonic reduction at the saturation stage became
limited mainly because of the occurrence of microbubble
destruction.
[0049] In summary, the subharmonic response to acoustic pulses of
contrast microbubbles has been investigated. The subharmonic
generation was found to undergo three stages: occurrence, growth
and saturation. The significant subharmonic amplitude in the growth
stage of the subharmonic generation can be used for both
subharmonic imaging with optimal image contrast and non-invasive
pressure estimation. Over the pressure range of 0-186 mm Hg, the
subharmonic amplitude of scattered signals reduces by as much as 10
dB in the growth stage while the first and second harmonic
amplitudes decrease less than 3 dB. This will allow the
simultaneous performance of pressure estimation with subharmonic
signals and imaging with the first and second harmonic signals
using only one contrast agent.
[0050] An excellent correlation between the subharmonic component
and hydrostatic pressure was obtained at the growth stage of
subharmonic generation. This demonstrates the subharmonic component
is a much better indicator of the hydrostatic pressure variation
than the fundamental and second harmonic components. Based on above
measurements, the present invention is a novel technique called
SHAPE (SubHarmonic-Aided Pressure Estimation). By transmitting at
one frequency but receiving only at its subharmonic frequency with
digital or analog filtering techniques, SHAPE measures the
hydrostatic pressure non-invasively according to a calibrated
correlation curve of the hydrostatic pressure versus the
subharmonic signal amplitude. It should be pointed out that
scattered ultraharmonic signals (e.g., the order 3/2) can also be
used in SHAPE (with receiving at the ultraharmonic frequency). This
is because the behaviors of the ultraharmonics are very similar to
those of the subharmonics (Llychev, V. I., Koretz, V. L. and
Melnikov, N. P. Spectral Characteristics of Acoustic Cavitations.
Ultrasound 27: 357-361, 1989; Shi, W. T. and Forsberg, F.
Ultrasonic Characterization of the Nonlinear Properties of Contrast
Microbubbles. (to be published) 1999). Since scattered subharmonic
signals are much more sensitive to changes in the size of contrast
microbubble than scattered first and second harmonic signals, SHAPE
can further estimate the hydrostatic pressure by measuring shifts
in the subharmonic (or ultraharmonic) resonance frequency of an
agent containing uniform contrast microbubbles. A correlation curve
between the subharmonic (or ultraharmonic) resonance frequency and
the hydrostatic pressure can be obtained using the experimental
system shown in FIG. 2(c). The subharmonic (or ultraharinonic)
resonance frequency at a given hydrostatic pressure level can be
determined by varying the transmit frequency to achieve the maximum
amplitude of scattered subharmonic (or ultraharmonic) signals.
[0051] SHAPE has been tested using a flow system shown in FIG. 10
as well as the electronic instruments given in FIG. 1. Two
spherically focused transducers were employed for obtaining
scattered signals from Levovist microbubbles inside a
tissue-mimicking flow phantom (ATS Lab, Bridgeport, Conn.). One
transducer (Staveley, East Hartford, Conn.) with a center frequency
of 2.2 MHz and a bandwidth of 38% was used as the transmit
transducer and another transducer (Etalon, Lebanon, Ind.) with a
center frequency of 3.6 MHz and a bandwidth 86% was employed as the
receiver. The transducers had the same diameter (1.2 cm) and a
similar focal length (around 2.5 cm). The confocal region of the
transducers was adjusted to be within an 8 mm vessel in the flow
phantom. Water inside the vessel was kept in circulation by a
peristaltic flow pump (Sarns, Ann Arbor, Mich.). The hydrostatic
pressure inside the vessel was increased or decreased by tightening
or releasing a clamp near the outlet of the phantom. The optimal
acoustic pressure at the confocal region was obtained by achieving
the maximum variation in the subharmonic amplitude as the
hydrostatic pressure varied. All measurements were carried out with
direct injections of contrast agents into a tank containing
approximately one liter of water. The injected contrast agent was
constantly mixed in the tank using a magnetic stirrer.
[0052] The amplitudes of the first and second harmonic and
subharmonic components in 32 spectra (each averaged over 16
sequences) are recorded against time over a period of 2 seconds in
FIG. 11. During the experiment, the hydrostatic pressure inside the
vessel decreased as the clamp was released. Ultrasonic pulses with
a center frequency of 2.0 MHz and a length of 32 cycles were
transmitted at a PRF of 250 Hz. As shown in FIG. 11, the first and
second harmonic amplitudes increase slightly as the hydrostatic
pressure decreases. Over the same pressure range the subharmonic
amplitude increases around 12 dB, which indicates a drop of about
200 mmHg in the hydrostatic pressure according the correlation
between the subharmonic amplitude and the hydrostatic pressure. The
predicted pressure drop (200 mmHg) has been confirmed by the
reading of the pressure gauge.
[0053] The implementation of SHAPE will be carried out in both
penetration and resolution modes. Excess dissipation resulting from
the harmonic generation in tissue will be minimized in the
penetration mode, while axial resolution will be maximized in the
resolution mode using new filtering techniques such as the
pulse-inversion method. Both mode can be applied to any body cavity
in deep or shallow tissue structures. The pressure will be
estimated according the correlation calibrated with the method
given in FIG. 2(c) by measuring the amplitude of subharmonic
signals.
[0054] In the penetration mode, relatively lower amplitude but
longer transmit pulses (8 cycles or more) will be utilized. During
the propagation of an intense acoustic wave, the waveform distorts
and higher harmonics are generated (Muir, T. G. and Carstensen, E.
L. Prediction of Nonlinear Acoustic Effects at Biomedical
Frequencies and Intensities. Ultrasound Med Biol 6: 345-357, 1980).
Acoustic energy initially at the transmit frequency will be
transferred to the higher harmonics. Since ultrasound attenuation
in tissue for higher frequency harmonics is much greater than that
for the transmit acoustic wave, extra acoustic energy will be lost
during the propagation from the source to the targeted imaging
area. Such extra energy loss increase with both traveling distance
and intensity of the ultrasound wave. Therefore, SHAPE in the
penetration mode is especially suitable for estimating pressure
inside deep cavities or vessels. Subharmonic signals in received
echoes can be extracted with a low-pass filter (or a band-pass
filter), because the narrow bandwidth of long transmit pulses
enables the subharmonic to be separated from the first and higher
harmonics in scattered signals. We have found that the subharmonic
signal leaks at the beginning and end of long transmit tonebursts
(Shi et al. Subharmonic Imaging with Gas-filled Microbubbles, J
Acoust Soc Am 101, 3139(abstract), 1997). Special care will be
taken to reduce such transmit leakage by either tuning the transmit
circuitry or adding a passive filter in the transmit circuitry.
[0055] In the resolution mode, relatively shorter transmit pulses
(2-6 cycles) will be employed. The amplitude of the pulses must be
great enough to maintain sufficient energy in each transmit pulse
and, therefore, adequate signal-to-noise ratio for the received
signals. Resolution can be as high as two cycles if 4-cycle pulses
are transmitted. Subharmonic signals in the received echoes will be
extracted using new filtering techniques such as (not limited to)
the combination of a low-pass filter and the pulse-inversion
technique. The low-pass filters will remove the second and higher
harmonics in the received echoes and the pulse-inversion technique
will cancel all the linearly scattered signals in the received
echoes. This technique was previously employed by Chapman and
Lazenby (1997) to enhance harmonic B-mode imaging. (Chapman, C. S.
and Lazenby, J. C. (1997), Ultrasound Imaging System Employing
Phase Inversion Subtraction to Enhance the Image. U.S. Pat. No.
5,632,277). It transmits a two-pulse sequence consisting of a short
pulse, say .eta..sub.1(t), and the inverted copy of the first pulse
.eta..sub.2(t)=-.eta..sub.1(t-t.sub.o) with a time delay t.sub.o,
respectively. By summing the scattered signals from these two
transmit pulses, this technique will cancel out all linear
scattering, that is, the first harmonic component in the combined
scattered signal. But the cancellation can be achieved only if
there is no relative motion between the transducer and the
scatterer between the two pulses within the delay t.sub.o.
Therefore, SHAPE will suffer from a contrast reduction when they
are used to detect fast moving structures in this mode.
[0056] Agents used in SHAPE will consist of gas-filled microbubbles
including free microbubbles or microbubbles with thin coating or
shell. The microbubbles must be flexible with good subharmonic
response to ultrasound insonification. The microbubbles must be
stable and capable of maintaining a stable size distribution in the
measurement environment. Agents with narrow size distribution (or
narrow resonance band) will be preferred for use in the penetration
mode. The center frequency of transmit ultrasound pulses will be
chosen near the peak subharmonic resonance frequency of such
agents. The agents with wide band size distribution (or wide
resonance band) will be preferred in the resolution mode. More
microbubbles will be excited into resonance to enhance the
signal-to-noise ratio of received signals. The agents with great
growth slope will be best for the pressure estimation because such
agents are capable of producing excellent correlation between the
subharmonic signal and the hydrostatic pressure. The calibrated
correlation will be used for the pressure estimation by measuring
the amplitude of subharmonic signals. SHAPE can be implemented by
designing a stand-alone system or modifying a commercial ultrasound
scanner.
[0057] (a). Stand-Alone Systems.
[0058] The constant pressure or averaged pressure over time at a
targeted location can be simply read out by a voltage meter, or the
pressure variation as a function of time at a targeted location ca
be displayed in a similar way as spectral Doppler.
[0059] A single-element spherically focused transducer with a
Transmit/Receiver switch can be used for general pressure
estimation, as shown in FIG. 12(a). The spatial resolution will be
determined by the transmit pulse length. Two single-element focused
transducers in the confocal fixed setting can be used to maintain a
fine spatial resolution of the pressure measurement when long
transmit ultrasound pulses are required, as shown in FIG. 12(b).
The spatial resolution will be determined by the size of the
confocal region. The spatial resolution can be further improved
using the subharmonic signals at f.sub.a-f.sub.b/2 (or
f.sub.a+f.sub.b/2) with two incident ultrasound waves (center
frequencies f.sub.a and f.sub.b, where f.sub.b.ltoreq.f.sub.a), as
shown in FIG. 12(c). The depth of the measurement is fixed with
setup in FIGS. 12(a), 12(b) and 12(c). In FIG. 12(a), the focused
transducer may be replaced with a flat or less focused
single-element transducer with a receive range gate for the
measurement of pressure distributions simultaneously at different
depths. The single-element transducers in FIGS. 12(a), 12(b) and
12(c) may also be replaced with annual, linear or curved transducer
arrays for the pressure measurement at different depths.
[0060] (b). Modification of Commercial Ultrasound Scanners
[0061] A commercial scanner can be modified for pressure
measurement at certain locations or for the formation of 2-D
pressure map. Pressure measurement at certain locations will be
displayed as the pressure versus time in the similar way as
spectral Doppler. The 2-D pressure map will be displayed in similar
way as color Doppler.
[0062] The pressure measurement and mapping can be performed with a
phase-array with capability of beam steering, or with a linear
array, or with a curved array. The array will be used in pulse-echo
mode to detect the backscattered subharmonic signals from contrast
microbubbles at a certain depth. The sample size in pressure
measurement will be controlled with a variable range gate as
employed in spectral Doppler. The axial resolution in 2-D pressure
map will be determined by the length of the transmit pulse.
[0063] The pressure measurement particular with a linear or curved
array can be performed with two beams formed on each side of the
array to simulate two single-element focused transducer. The two
beams are steered to form a confocal region where the pressure
estimation will be made. This design will be very useful when long
transmit ultrasound pulse are required. The spatial resolution will
be determined by the dimension of the confocal region.
[0064] Both the pressure measurement and 2-D mapping can be carried
out simultaneously with conventional or harmonic imaging. For some
contrast agents, the subharmonic response is very sensible to
pressure change while the first and second harmonics are insensible
to pressure changes (e.g., for Levovist, around 10 dB subharmonic
reduction and 2 dB second harmonic reduction over 0-186 mmHg).
Color-coded pressure map can be overlapped on the conventional and
harmonic gray-scale images. M-mode pressure measurement can also be
conducted. That is, firing subsequent A-lines along one line of
sight and estimate the pressure at each depth before displaying the
information as a function of depth and time in a similar way as
M-mode.
* * * * *