A new method to characterize a material’s attenuation using acoustic radiation force is proposed. Comparison of displacement magnitudes generated in a homogeneous material by acoustic radiation force excitations can be used to estimate the material’s attenuation when the excitations are applied over a range of focal depths while maintaining a constant lateral focal configuration. Acoustic attenuations are related to the inverse of the excitation focal depth that yields the greatest focal zone displacement for this protocol. Experimental studies in calibrated tissue-mimicking phantoms are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of this method. Attenuations ranging from 0.3 – 1.5 dB/cm/MHz were characterized over excitation focal depths ranging from 5 – 30 mm, with an accuracy of 0.1 ± 0.15 dB/cm/MHz. As currently implemented, this method is limited to characterizing materials that have homogeneous material properties and acoustic attenuations. This method for characterizing acoustic attenuation can be performed using conventional diagnostic scanners without any additional hardware and could also be performed concurrently with acoustic radiation force-based imaging modalities to generate images of mechanical properties and attenuation that are spatially co-registered with B-mode images.
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机译：提出了一种利用声辐射力表征材料衰减的新方法。通过声辐射力激发在均质材料中产生的位移大小的比较可用于估算在一定焦深范围内施加激发同时保持恒定的横向焦距配置时材料的衰减。声衰减与激发焦深的倒数有关，该焦深产生此协议的最大聚焦区位移。提出了在经过校准的模仿组织模型的实验研究，以证明该方法的可行性。在5 – 30 mm的激发焦深范围内，衰减范围为0.3 – 1.5 dB / cm / MHz，精度为0.1±0.15 dB / cm / MHz。如当前实施的那样，该方法限于表征具有均一的材料特性和声衰减的材料。可以使用常规诊断扫描仪执行此表征声衰减的方法，而无需任何其他硬件，也可以与基于声辐射力的成像模态同时执行，以生成机械特性和衰减的图像，这些图像在空间上与B模式图像共配准。 。
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