Part I: Development of an Animal Model to Investigate the 2D and 3D High Image Resolution Ultrasonic Technology Using Synthetic Aperture and Adaptive Beamformers

摘要

In recent years, it has been demonstrated that the current ultrasound imaging system may be unreliable due to its poor imaging quality; in several instances, it lacks clarity, specificity, resolution, and sensitivity. These disadvantages have negative consequences when diagnosing patients, since false- positive or false-negative results are sometimes inevitable. It is therefore of great importance to design a new ultrasound imaging system that is able to enhance the images provided by the current technology and subsequently prevent chances for misdiagnosis. An animal model of organ injuries has been established where the current technology in ultrasonography will be tested and compared to the newly developed 3-D ultrasound technology. For this, the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a bacterial cell wall component, on the lung, liver, and kidney organs of rabbits was examined. Administration of LPS to animals was more or less injurious to all organs examined as evidenced by an increase in organ weights. In addition, a significant increase in lipid peroxidation as well as reduction in glutathione levels in tissue homogenates, confirmed the involvement of oxidative stress as a major mechanism of LPS-induced tissue injury. In conclusion, LPS administration to rabbits appears to produce a good animal model in obtaining images of normal and injured organs that will be used to validate the diagnostic superiority of the 3D ultrasound technology over the existing technologies.