title: In vivo ultrasonic attenuation in cetacean soft tissues.
abstract: In vivo ultrasonic attenuation was estimated for extracranial soft tissues of two Tursiops truncatus and one Delphinapterus leucas. Backscatter data was non-invasively collected as part of routine health-based ultrasound examinations using a transducer operating in the 1.6-3.7 MHz frequency range. Data collected over the proximal mandible and temporal regions was processed to yield attenuation estimates using a reference tissue phantom whose properties had been independently determined. The estimated attenuations were at the low end of the range of literature-reported values for mammalian fatty and connective tissues. A companion model-based analysis quantified errors arising from tissue composition and sound speed uncertainties.
authors.affiliation: Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0405, USA michael.gray@eng.ox.ac.uk, peter.rogers@me.gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.affiliation: Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0405, USA michael.gray@eng.ox.ac.uk, peter.rogers@me.gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Peter H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Rogers
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000818:Animals; D050643:Beluga Whale; D050681:Bottle-Nosed Dolphin; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009038:Motion; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D014159:Transducers; D000069453:Ultrasonic Waves; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000295:instrumentation