title: An in vitro system for the study of ultrasound contrast agents using a commercial imaging system.
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 HD13000 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 (ELF Atochem, Paris, France) particles (approximately 5 microm mean diameter) and (b) a suspension of Eccosphere (New Metals & Chemicals Ltd, Essex, UK) particles (approximately 50 microm 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics and Medical Engineering, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh, UK. Vassilis.Sboros@ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sboros
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Moran
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gatzoulis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Criton
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Averkiou
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Pye
authors.forename: W N
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: McDicken
mesh_terms: D003287:Contrast Media / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media