Ultrasound Scatterer Characterization in Dense Media
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ultrasound techniques are inadequate for characterizing dense concentrations of scatterers, such as red blood cell aggregates in blood, due to signal attenuation and the need for real-time, in vivo analysis, and they struggle with providing accurate quantitative or qualitative estimates of physical parameters in dense media.
Innovation Solution
A method using a second-order Taylor approximation of the structure factor to model ultrasound data, allowing for real-time estimation of physical properties like packing factor and diameter of scatterers, even in the presence of attenuating media, without requiring separate attenuation measurements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If known ultrasound techniques are used to characterize scatterers, then quantitative information about scatterer size and concentration can be obtained in dilute media, but these techniques fail to provide accurate quantitative estimates in dense media due to signal attenuation and multiple scattering effects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameters of the ultrasound characterization approach by using a different physical model (single scattering approximation with modified backscattering coefficient) that remains valid in dense media, rather than trying to improve existing models. This allows accurate characterization across both dilute and dense concentration ranges.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and compensates for the attenuating layers' effects separately from the scatterer characterization process. By identifying and removing the confounding effects of attenuation and multiple scattering, the method isolates the true single scattering signal for accurate quantitative analysis in dense media.
2Measurement precision
If attenuation compensation is performed using known methods with separate measurements of intervening tissue layers, then frequency-dependent attenuation can be corrected, but the process cannot be performed in real-time and requires multiple separate measurement techniques
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the attenuation compensation process with the scatterer characterization process into a single integrated measurement and calculation step. The backscattering coefficient is computed to automatically account for attenuating layers, eliminating the need for separate attenuation measurements and enabling real-time processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The method makes the system self-sufficient by having the backscattering coefficient calculation inherently compensate for attenuation effects without requiring external or separate measurements of the attenuating layers. The single scattering approximation naturally accounts for the presence of attenuating media.
3Measurement precision
If sampling methods are used to analyze bulk suspension, then physical parameters of scatterers can be measured, but the process cannot provide real-time analysis and may introduce sampling errors or contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical sampling and laboratory analysis with non-invasive ultrasound measurement. The acoustic waves interact with the scatterers in situ, providing real-time characterization without physical contact, sampling, or removal of material, thus eliminating sampling errors and contamination risks.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate and absolute physical parameter estimation of scatterers in dense media, facilitating in vivo monitoring of red blood cell aggregation and other applications, providing reliable data comparable to higher-order approximations.
Implementation Method 1
ultrasound echoes are transmitted to scatterers in a medium and backscattered or scattered echoes are detected
Implementation Method 2
modelling the ultrasound data using a second order Taylor approximation of a structure factor defining a spatial organization of the scatterers
Implementation Method 3
Fourier transforming the digitized ultrasound radio-frequency signals
Data Source
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Figure 3(a)~4(b)
Figure 5(a)~6(b)
AI summary
A method for characterizing ultrasound scatterers in a medium comprising providing ultrasound data representing a region of interest comprising a plurality of scatterers in a medium, the plurality of scatterers including clusters of scatterer sub-units, the scatterers having a physical property value to be estimated and the scatterer sub-units having at least one known physical parameter value; modelling the ultrasound data using an at least second order function of a spatial organization parameter defining the spatial organization of the scatterers; and estimating the physical property value of the scatterers from the modelled ultrasound data and the at least one known physical parameter of the sub-units by a regression of the spatial organization parameter as a function of frequency. A system for characterizing ultrasound scatterers is also included.