Comprehensive Comparison of Image Quality Aspects Between Conventional and Plane-Wave Imaging Methods on a Commercial Scanner.

Coherent plane-wave compound imaging (CPWCI) is used as alternative for conventional focused imaging (CFI) to increase frame rates linearly with the ratio number of imaging lines to steering angles. In this study, the image quality was compared between CPWCI and CFI, and the effect of steering angles (range and number) and beamforming strategies was evaluated in CPWCI. In automated breast volume scanners (ABVSs), which suffer from reduced volume rates, CPWCI might be an excellent candidate to replace CFI.

Radiological Society of North America/Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance Shear Wave Speed Bias Quantification in Elastic and Viscoelastic Phantoms.

Objectives: To quantify the bias of shear wave speed (SWS) measurements between different commercial ultrasonic shear elasticity systems and a magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) system in elastic and viscoelastic phantoms.

Methods: Two elastic phantoms, representing healthy through fibrotic liver, were measured with 5 different ultrasound platforms, and 3 viscoelastic phantoms, representing healthy through fibrotic liver tissue, were measured with 12 different ultrasound platforms. Measurements were performed with different systems at different sites, at 3 focal depths, and with different appraisers.

Three-dimensional US for Quantification of Volumetric Blood Flow: Multisite Multisystem Results from within the Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance.

Background Quantitative blood flow (QBF) measurements that use pulsed-wave US rely on difficult-to-meet conditions. Imaging biomarkers need to be quantitative and user and machine independent. Surrogate markers (eg, resistive index) fail to quantify actual volumetric flow.

Novel Method for Ultrasound-Derived Fat Fraction Using an Integrated Phantom.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the clinical feasibility of an integrated reference phantom method for quantitative ultrasound by creating an ultrasound-derived fat fraction (UDFF) tool. This tool was evaluated with respect to its diagnostic performance as a biomarker for assessing histologic hepatic steatosis and its agreement with the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) proton density fat fraction (PDFF).

Methods: Adults (n = 101) with known or suspected nonalcoholic fatty liver disease consented to participate in this prospective cross-sectional study.

Power Spectrum Consistency among Systems and Transducers.

Use of the reference phantom method for computing acoustic attenuation and backscatter is widespread. However, clinical application of these methods has been limited by the need to acquire reference phantom data. We determined that the data acquired from 11 transducers of the same model and five clinical ultrasound systems of the same model produce equivalent estimates of reference phantom power spectra.

Three-dimensional Ultrasound Elasticity Imaging on an Automated Breast Volume Scanning System.

Ultrasound elasticity imaging has demonstrated utility in breast imaging, but it is typically performed with handheld transducers and two-dimensional imaging. Two-dimensional (2D) elastography images tissue stiffness of only a plane and hence suffers from errors due to out-of-plane motion, whereas three-dimensional (3D) data acquisition and motion tracking can be used to track out-of-plane motion that is lost in 2D elastography systems. A commercially available automated breast volume scanning system that acquires 3D ultrasound data with precisely controlled elevational movement of the 1D array ultrasound transducer was employed in this study.

Automated 3D ultrasound elastography of the breast: a phantom validation study.

In breast cancer screening, the automated breast volume scanner (ABVS) was introduced as an alternative for mammography since the latter technique is less suitable for women with dense breasts. Although clinical studies show promising results, clinicians report two disadvantages: long acquisition times (>90 s) introducing breathing artefacts, and high recall rates due to detection of many small lesions of uncertain malignant potential. Technical improvements for faster image acquisition and better discrimination between benign and malignant lesions are thus required.