Quantitative Ultrasound Comparison of MAT and 4T1 Mammary Tumors in XXXX and @entity35 Across Multiple Imaging Systems.

@entity5 @entity5377 @entity19 @entity35
OBJECTIVES: Quantitative ultrasound estimates such as the frequency-dependent backscatter coefficient (BSC) have the potential to enhance noninvasive tissue characterization and to identify @entity5 better than traditional B-mode imaging. Thus, investigating system independence of BSC estimates from multiple imaging platforms is important for assessing their capabilities to detect tissue differences. METHODS: @entity19 and @entity35 @entity5 models, 4T1 and MAT, respectively, were used in a comparative experiment using 3 imaging systems ( @entity5377 , Ultrasonix, and VisualSonics) with 5 different transducers covering a range of ultrasonic frequencies. RESULTS: Functional analysis of variance of the MAT and 4T1 BSC-versus-frequency curves revealed statistically significant differences between the two @entity5 types. Variations also were found among results from different transducers, attributable to frequency range effects. At 3 to 8 MHz, @entity5 BSC functions using different systems showed no differences between @entity5 type, but at 10 to 20 MHz, there were differences between 4T1 and MAT @entity5 . Fitting an average spline model to the combined BSC estimates (3-22 MHz) demonstrated that the BSC differences between @entity5 increased with increasing frequency, with the greatest separation above 15 MHz. Confining the analysis to @entity5 resulted in better discrimination over a wider bandwidth. CONCLUSIONS: Confining the comparison to higher ultrasonic frequencies or larger @entity5 sizes allowed for separation of BSC-versus-frequency curves from 4T1 and MAT @entity5 . These constraints ensure that a greater fraction of the backscattered signals originated from within the @entity5 , thus demonstrating that statistically significant @entity5 differences were detected.
