Investigating ultrasound imaging in the frequency domain for tissue characterisation

The potential of ultrasound imaging for use in distinguishing structures present in soft materials is investigated. In this study, images were reconstructed using non-standard parameters, which have been shown to vary according to different tissue structures. Due to the previously determined dependence on material microstructure, we investigate the possibility of these parameters as a basis for imaging soft materials. The feasibility of imaging methods was first tested on a large scale using 0.5-MHz ultrasound transducers. Imaging was then extended to a smaller scale using small-diameter 25-MHz transducers. The resulting images were compared to conventional C-scans with minimal data processing and were found to be of at least similar quality. These initial results show the possibility of using nonconventional ultrasound measurements as another means of imaging tissue and other soft materials for the presence of internal inclusions.