Sensors, Vol. 20, Pages 3584: Window-Modulated Compounding Nakagami Parameter Ratio Approach for Assessing Muscle Perfusion with Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging

Sensors, Vol. 20, Pages 3584: Window-Modulated Compounding Nakagami Parameter Ratio Approach for Assessing Muscle Perfusion with Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging Sensors doi: 10.3390/s20123584 Authors: Huang-Chen Lin Shyh-Hau Wang The assessment of microvascular perfusion is essential for the diagnosis of a specific muscle disease. In comparison with the current available medical modalities, the contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging is the simplest and fastest means for probing the tissue perfusion. Specifically, the perfusion parameters estimated from the ultrasound time-intensity curve (TIC) and statistics-based time–Nakagami parameter curve (TNC) approaches were found able to quantify the perfusion. However, due to insufficient tolerance on tissue clutters and subresolvable effects, these approaches remain short of reproducibility and robustness. Consequently, the window-modulated compounding (WMC) Nakagami parameter ratio imaging was proposed to alleviate these effects, by taking the ratio of WMC Nakagami parameters corresponding to the incidence of two different acoustic pressures from an employed transducer. The time–Nakagami parameter ratio curve (TNRC) approach was also developed to estimate perfusion parameters. Measurements for the assessment of muscle perfusion were performed from the flow phantom and animal subjects administrated with a bolus of ultrasound contrast agents. The TNRC approach demonstrated better sensitivity a...
Source: Sensors - Category: Biotechnology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research