Elasticity imaging using high frame rate ultrasound imaging

We Investigated the performance of the conventional and high frame rate ultrasound imaging techniques for strain and elasticity imaging. High frame rate imaging is necessary to track fast deformation in elasticity imaging, but the ultrasound image quality is known to be compromised. Both numerical and experimental studies were performed using point targets and tissue mimicking phantoms. The results of our study confirm that the signal to noise ratio (SNR), contrast to noise ratio (CNR), and axial/lateral resolution of the displacement and strain images acquired using high frame rate ultrasound imaging are comparable with those obtained using the conventional imaging. Thus, the high frame rate ultrasound imaging can be reliably used for both static and dynamic elasticity imaging if the frame rate to capture the internal tissue motion is critical.