| US 7,444,875 B1 | ||
| Real time visualization of shear wave propagation in soft materials with sonoelastography | ||
| Zhe Wu, New Berlin, Wis. (US); and Kevin J. Parker, Rochester, N.Y. (US) | ||
| Assigned to University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y. (US) | ||
| Filed on Feb. 17, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/356,472. | ||
| Claims priority of provisional application 60/653987, filed on Feb. 18, 2005. | ||
| Int. Cl. A61B 8/00 (2006.01); A61B 5/103 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 73—602 [600/438; 600/443] | 32 Claims |
| 1. A method for visualizing shear wave propagation in a medium, the method comprising:
(a) introducing a shear wave from a shear wave source into the medium, the shear wave having a shear wave frequency and a
shear wave phase velocity;
(b) detecting a propagation of the shear wave through the medium by using an ultrasound probe to produce an ultrasound signal;
(c) introducing a vibration into the ultrasound signal at a second frequency;
(d) from the ultrasound signal having the vibration, deriving a modulation wave which represents a propagation of the shear
wave relative to the ultrasound probe, the modulation wave having a modulation wave phase velocity which varies as a difference
between the shear wave frequency and the second frequency; and
(e) producing an image representing the shear wave propagation from the modulation wave derived in step (d).
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