Ultrasonic attenuation maps of liver based on a conventional B-scan and an amplitude loss technique

The authors present a novel ultrasonic amplitude loss technique, using image processing techniques and designed for computation of local attenuation estimates. Three different estimation approaches were evaluated: the extended Prony, the maximum likelihood, and the least squares approaches. The latter two approaches were found to result in a much higher estimation error than that observed for the Prony method. The attenuation values in the normal population (49 subjects) were 0.44 +/- 0.03 dB/MHz/cm. Three hundred sixty-seven liver scans from 266 patients were evaluated. Hodgkin's lymphoma patients with liver involvement had attenuation values of 0.22 +/- 0.07 dB/MHz/cm. Low attenuation values also were observed for four patients with viral hepatitis (0.31 +/- 0.08 dB/MHz/cm). The detectability of other disease states was not increased by these global attenuation estimates; however, the results demonstrate possible potential uses for the proposed technique for the diagnosis of diffuse liver disease.