Abstract
Ultrasound tissue characterization is the effort to derive from the ultrasound signal quantitative information which relates to and provides information about normal and diseased states. Two subjects in this research effort that are currently undergoing investigation and preliminary clinical application are scattering and attenuation. By quantifying backscatter amplitude, the "echogenicity" of diseased organs can be determined more precisely than by visual inspection. Obtaining some measurement of the spatial distribution of scatterers should serve as an approximate indicator of "tissue texture" and yield clinically useful information about normal and diseased tissue structure. Attenuation, estimated by measuring the change in frequency or amplitude as the ultrasound beam traverses tissue, may also prove valuable by providing another measurable parameter for the development of a given tissue's "acoustic profile." The successful implementation into clinical practice of these and other ultrasound tissue characterization measurements will extend and augment the diagnostic capabilities of ultrasound imaging.