Combined perfusion and doppler imaging using plane-wave nonlinear detection and microbubble contrast agents.

Area of Science:

• Ultrasound imaging
• Medical imaging
• Biomedical engineering

Background:

• Conventional ultrasound imaging is limited by frame rates.
• Microbubble contrast agents offer enhanced sensitivity.
• Linear Doppler struggles with capillary perfusion due to tissue motion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate plane-wave imaging for enhanced ultrasound acquisition.
• To assess microbubble signal coherence for power Doppler.
• To demonstrate simultaneous visualization of macrovasculature and capillary perfusion.

Main Methods:

• Plane-wave imaging with pulse inversion Doppler.
• Assessment of microbubble signal coherence.
• In vivo rabbit kidney imaging using contrast-enhanced power and color Doppler.

Main Results:

• Microbubble signal coherence up to 204 pulses achieved.
• Plane-wave imaging enables high frame rates (>100 Hz).
• Simultaneous imaging of vascular morphology and capillary perfusion demonstrated.

Conclusions:

• Plane-wave imaging overcomes limitations of conventional ultrasound.
• Microbubble-enhanced Doppler imaging is crucial for capillary perfusion detection.
• This method allows high-resolution, high-frame-rate visualization of renal vasculature and microcirculation.