Recent Experiences and Advances in Contrast-Enhanced Subharmonic Ultrasound

Nonlinear contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging schemes strive to suppress tissue signals in order to better visualize nonlinear signals from blood-pooling ultrasound contrast agents. Because tissue does not generate a subharmonic response (i.e., signal at half the transmit frequency), subharmonic imaging has been proposed as a method for isolating ultrasound microbubble signals while suppressing surrounding tissue signals. In this paper, we summarize recent advances in the use of subharmonic imaging in vivo. These advances include the implementation of subharmonic imaging on linear and curvilinear arrays, intravascular probes, and three-dimensional probes for breast, renal, liver, plaque, and tumor imaging.