BRP Support from NIH/NCI

RO1CA111289

The Theoretical Basis for Quantitative

Ultrasound from Pulse-Echo Data
Timothy J. Hall
Medical Physics Department
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Context for Quantitative Ultrasound

Typical Clinical Breast Ultrasound

Clinicians use images to describe lesion morphology

This lesion is described as Hypo-echoic and Shadowing

Motivation: Quantitative Ultrasound

American College of Radiology Breast Imaging and Reporting Data System
Surrounding Tissue

-duct changes
-Coopers ligament changes
-edema
-architectural distortion
-skin thickening
-skin retraction/irregularity

ACR BI-RADS

Complicated
cyst

Ultrasound Lexicon

Mass in
skin

Shape

-round
-oval
-irregular

Mass

Vascularity

Calcifications

Margins

-circumscribed

Orientation

-not circumscribed
-indistinct
-angular
-microlobulated
-spiculated

-parallel
-not parallel

Boundary

-abrupt interface
-echogenic halo

Echo Pattern
-anechoic

-hyperechoic
-complex
-hypoechoic
-isoechoic

Special
Cases

-not present (or NA)

-present
-present adjacent to lesion
-diffusely increased surrounding
-micro-calcification
-macro-calcifications
-micro-calcification in a mass

Posterior acoustic features

-none
-enhancement
-shadowing
-combined pattern

Courtesy of Dr. Elizabeth Burnside, Radiology Dept. UW-Madison

Foreign body

Lymph node
Intramammary
Lymph node
Axillary

Clustered microcysts

Motivation: Quantitative Ultrasound

American College of Radiology Breast Imaging and Reporting Data System
Surrounding Tissue

-duct changes
-Coopers ligament changes
-edema
-architectural distortion
-skin thickening
-skin retraction/irregularity

ACR BI-RADS

Complicated
cyst

Ultrasound Lexicon

Mass in
skin

Shape

-round
-oval
-irregular

Mass

Vascularity

Calcifications

Margins

-circumscribed

Orientation

-not circumscribed
-indistinct
-angular
-microlobulated
-spiculated

-parallel
-not parallel

Boundary

-abrupt interface
-echogenic halo

Echo Pattern
-anechoic

-hyperechoic
-complex
-hypoechoic
-isoechoic

Special
Cases

-not present (or NA)

-present
-present adjacent to lesion
-diffusely increased surrounding
-micro-calcification
-macro-calcifications
-micro-calcification in a mass

Posterior acoustic features

-none
-enhancement
-shadowing
-combined pattern

Foreign body

Lymph node
Intramammary
Lymph node
Axillary

Clustered microcysts

Motivation: Quantitative Ultrasound

American College of Radiology Breast Imaging and Reporting Data System

Echo Pattern

Anechoic
Hyperechoic
Complex
Hypoechoic
Isoechoic

Low level echoes

throughout
(relative to fat)

Anechoic
Hyperechoic
Complex
Hypoechoic
Isoechoic

80% prevalent
40% malignant
Same
echogenicity as
fat

12% prevalent
16% malignant

Hong AS, Rosen EL, Soo MS, Baker JA. BI-RADS for sonography: positive and negative predictive values of
sonographic features. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2005; 184:1260-1265.
Figures: Courtesy of Dr. Elizabeth Burnside, Radiology Dept. UW-Madison

Motivation: Quantitative Ultrasound

American College of Radiology Breast Imaging and

Reporting Data System
To be predictive of benign and malignant disease
Help to communicate, facilitate research, and
provide better patients care
Many descriptors are subjective and qualitative
Inter-observer disagreement for some descriptors
has been shown in the literature1
1Elizabeth

Lazarus et al., BI-RADS Lexicon for US and Mammography: Interobserver Variability and
Positive Predictive Value, Radiology, 239-2, pp385-391,2006

Goal of QUS
Typical Clinical Breast Ultrasound

Reduce/remove subjectivity in clinical description of lesions

This lesion is described as Hypo-echoic and Shadowing

QUS Theory

Generalized Image Formation Model

Soft Tissue
Properties

Imaging System
Properties
RF Echo
Signal

Ultrasonic
(B-mode)
Image

QUS Theory
Weve known for many decades about the limiting
conditions in acoustic wave propagation
Compare the size of the scattering source (d) with the
acoustic wavelength ()
<< d specular reflection (Snells law)
>> d Rayleigh scattering (proportional to f4 d6)

Physics is more interesting between these limiting

conditions
Use models for acoustic interactions with tissue to
extract physically descriptive parameters
Quantitative ultrasound (QUS)

QUS Theory
First some definitions
Scattering is an elastic interaction resulting in a change in the
amplitude, frequency, phase or direction of the acoustic wave
as a consequence of interacting with a spatial or temporal
non-uniformity in the propagation medium
Absorption is an inelastic process by which some portion of
the acoustic wave energy is irreversibly converted into
internal energy of the propagating medium structure.
Acoustic attenuation is the sum of scattering and absorptive
losses

QUS Theory
To estimate an absolute parameter that describes
acoustic scattering we compare our data to a model
Inverse Problem approach
A model for what?

The differential scattering cross section

- Defined as the acoustic power scattered per solid angle
per unit incident intensity
- Units are (length2 steradian-1)

- Generally normalized to the volume contributing to

scattering
- (units become length-1 steradian-1)

QUS Theory
The differential scattering cross section per unit
volume
- (Normalize DSC to the volume contributing to scattering
with units of length-1 steradian-1)
- An intrinsic material property

Special Case
Scattering in the 180o direction
(like pulse-echo ultrasound)
Backscatter coefficient
The acoustic power scattered per solid angle per unit
incident intensity per unit volume in the 180o direction

Now we have a quantity to model: the BSC

QUS Theory
The Backscatter Coefficient
The acoustic power scattered per solid angle per
unit incident intensity per unit volume in the 180o
direction

What do we need to know to model it?

Incident intensity
Details of the scattering interaction

QUS Theory
Incident intensity
Closed-form solutions for simple radiating
surfaces (single-element transducers)
Freely available programs for simulation complex
surfaces (array transducers)

Typical assumption is incident plane waves

QUS Theory
Model for backscatter
Continuum model
(continuously varying impedance distribution)

Discrete scatterer model

QUS Theory
Details of the scattering interaction
Numerous approaches
Random inhomogeneities
Inhomogeneous wave equation

= Spatial variation from local average compressibility

= Spatial variation from local average mass density

QUS Theory
Details of the scattering interaction
Discrete scatterers

Numerous approaches
Geometry of the scattering source
Boundary conditions

Closed-form solutions
Infinite and finite cylinders
Spheres
Prolate spheroids

QUS Theory
Closed-form solutions for scattered pressure
Cylinders (infinite, finite, bent, etc.)

Lax and Feshbach, JASA 20(2): 108-124, 1948.

Faran, JASA 23(4): 405-418, 1951.
Su, et al., JASA 68(2): 687-691, 1980.
Flax, et al., JASA 68(6): 1832-1835, 1980.
Stanton, JASA 94(6): 3454-3462, 1993.
Ye, et al. JASA 102(4): 1964-1976, 1997.

Assume incident plane wave (normal or oblique)

Compute scattered pressure as a function of angle
The publication list is examples only and is not exhaustive

QUS Theory
Closed-form solutions for scattered pressure
Single Sphere

Faran, JASA 23(4): 405-418, 1951.

Hickling, JASA 34(10): 1582-1592, 1962.

Spherical shell and oblate spheroid

Stanton, JASA 88(3): 1619-1633, 1990.

Stanton, JASA 94(6): 3454-3462, 1993.

Assume incident plane wave (normal or oblique)

Compute scattered pressure as a function of angle
The publication list is examples only and is not exhaustive

QUS Theory
Why so much interest in closed-form solutions for
scattering functions?
Scattering theory based on first principles
Comparison between experiment and theory

Many of the publications on scattering from

cylinders included experimental results
Early work on scattering from spheres contained
comparisons with experiments

QUS Theory
Discrete models for backscatter
Burke, et al., Ultrasonic Imaging 6: 342247, 1984.

Ability to accurately measure scattering from single spheres

QUS Theory

Narrowband measurements of
scattering from a cloud of spherical
glass beads in agar
Davros, et al. JASA 80(1): 229-237, 1986

4MHz

6MHz

7MHz

QUS Theory
Comparisons between Farans theory for backscatter from spheres
Hall, et al., UMB 22(8): 987-997, 1996.

Scattering from a
cloud of glass spheres

3 transducers required
to cover this bandwidth

QUS Theory
Summary
There is a need for quantitative estimates of acoustic
scattering
A common clinical task requires subjective description of
relative echogenicity

Scattering theory has been described for simple

structures
Measurements of phantoms agree very well with
predictions from scattering theory
This is a major step toward the goal of quantifying
scattering in unknown media

Thank you
This work was funded, in part, by NIH BRP grant R01CA111289