title: Analyzing the Impact of Increasing Mechanical Index and Energy Deposition on Shear Wave Speed Reconstruction in Human Liver.
abstract: Shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI) has found success in liver fibrosis staging. This work evaluates hepatic SWEI measurement success as a function of push pulse energy using two mechanical index (MI) values (1.6 and 2.2) over a range of pulse durations. Shear wave speed (SWS) was measured in the livers of 26 study subjects with known or potential chronic liver diseases. Each measurement consisted of eight SWEI sequences, each with different push energy configurations. The rate of successful SWS estimation was linearly proportional to the push energy. SWEI measurements with higher push energy were successful in patients for whom standard push energy levels failed. The findings also suggest that liver capsule depth could be used prospectively to identify patients who would benefit from elevated output. We conclude that there is clinical benefit to using elevated acoustic output for hepatic SWS measurement in patients with deeper livers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. Electronic address: yufeng.deng@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Yufeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Mark L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Palmeri
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Ned C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Rouze
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Rosenzweig
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology-Hepatology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Manal F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Abdelmalek
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Nightingale
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D002908:Chronic Disease; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004735:Energy Transfer; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D033081:Shear Strength; D000069453:Ultrasonic Waves
keywords: Acoustic radiation force energy; Liver fibrosis; Mechanical index; Shear wave elasticity imaging