title: Ultrasound elastography of ethanol-induced hepatic lesions: in vitro study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the value of ultrasound elastography in evaluation of ethanol-induced lesions of liver.
  
  
  METHODS
  Alcohol with a dose of 2 ml was injected into a fresh porcine liver under ultrasound guidance to create stiff necrosis. Then freehand elastography of the lesion from the identical scan plane was obtained with SONOLINE Antares system using VF10-5 probe at about every 30 seconds till 6 minutes later. The original high quality radiofrequency data were acquired through an ultrasound research interface which was provided by the ultrasound system. Then, corresponding elastograms were produced offline using cross-correlation technique and compared with gross pathology findings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Gray-scale sonogram showed a hyperechoic area with acoustic shadow below appeared immediately after alcohol injection. The hyperechoic area tended to be diffuse and its boundary to be illegible with time. On the contrary, the ethanol-induced lesion in elastogram appeared as a low strain hard region surrounded by high strain soft hepatic tissues, with clear but irregular boundaries. Sequential elastograms with the sketched lesion boundaries showed that the lesion area increased in the first 3 minutes after ethanol injection, and then reached a plateau which corresponding to gross specimen.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ultrasound elastography is capable of detecting and evaluating the diffusion of ethanol-induced hepatic lesion, and more sensitive and accurate than routine sonography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Ultrasound, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Li-gang
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Jin-hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.forename: Jin-rui
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Yi-zhuo
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004548:Elasticity; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D013552:Swine; D014465:Ultrasonics
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol