Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10691503 | Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology | 2013 | 13 Pages |
Abstract
When insonified with suitable ultrasound excitation, contrast microbubbles generate various non-linear scattered components, such as the second harmonic (2H) and the subharmonic (SH). In this study, we exploit the wide frequency bandwidth of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) to enhance the response from ultrasound contrast agents by selective imaging of both the 2H and SH components simultaneously. To this end, contrast images using the pulse inversion method were recorded with a 64-element CMUT linear array connected to an open scanner. In comparison to imaging at 2H alone, the wideband imaging including both the 2H and SH contributions provided up to 130% and 180% increases in the signal-to-noise and contrast-to-tissue ratios, respectively. The wide-frequency band of CMUTs offers new opportunities for improved ultrasound contrast agent imaging.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Acoustics and Ultrasonics
Authors
Anthony Novell, Jean-Michel Escoffre, Ayache Bouakaz,