[Mitral valve tissue characterization using acoustic microscopy].
Mitral valve hardness in the rough and clear zones was evaluated by measuring the propagation velocity (m/sec) of ultrasound through the valve, based on the hypothesis that harder tissues will have larger ultrasonic velocity values passing through the tissue. Mitral valve specimens were obtained from 16 normal subjects (age, 15-72 years) at autopsy. An acoustic microscope, operating at 450 MHz, was used to measure the ultrasonic velocity through the three layers of the valve: the atrialis; the spongiosa; and the fibrosa. Furthermore, the mean ultrasonic velocity through the three layers was measured. These measurements were conducted in the rough and clear zones of the valve. In the rough zone, the ultrasonic velocities were 1,634 +/- 71 in the atrialis, 1,574 +/- 37 in the spongiosa, and 1,726 +/- 97 m/sec in the fibrosa. In the clear zone, the ultrasonic velocities were 1,691 +/- 117 in the atrialis, 1,575 +/- 44 in the spongiosa, and 1,909 +/- 131 m/sec in the fibrosa. There were significant differences between velocities in the three layers in both the rough and clear zones. Furthermore, the mean ultrasonic velocity in the three layers in the clear zone (1,887 +/- 138 m/sec) was higher than that in the rough zone (1,642 +/- 53 m/sec; p < 0.001). These findings show that fibrosa, which is rich in collagen fibers, is harder than atrialis, which is rich in elastic fibers, and the spongiosa, which is poor in connective tissues, is the softest. The higher mean ultrasonic velocity in the clear zone than in the rough zone indicates that the clear zone is harder than the rough zone, although the clear zone is thinner than the rough zone.
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Kagawa Medical University.
H
H
Masugata
S
S
Senda
K
K
Mizushige
X
X
Lu
A
A
Kinoshita
H
H
Sakamoto
S
S
Nozaki
S
S
Sakamoto
H
H
Matsuo
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D014463:Ultrasonography