Temperature Elevation in an Instrumented Phantom Insonated by B-Mode Imaging, Pulse Doppler and Shear Wave...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biophysics
• Obstetrics and Gynecology

Background:

• Diagnostic ultrasound is crucial for obstetric care, providing anatomical and physiological data.
• Shear wave elastography (SWE) assesses tissue elasticity and is expanding into obstetrics and gynecology.
• The thermal and mechanical effects of SWE on fetal development are currently unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure the temperature increase caused by B-mode, pulse Doppler (PD), and SWE.
• To provide reference data for future obstetric and gynecologic SWE safety studies.
• To offer initial recommendations on SWE safety in these clinical areas.

Main Methods:

• Experiments were conducted using an Aixplorer diagnostic ultrasound system.
• An instrumented phantom with 11 embedded thermocouples was used to measure temperature changes.
• Temperature increases were recorded for B-mode, PD, and SWE modes after 380-second excitation.

Main Results:

• The highest temperature increase was observed near the transducer surface.
• SWE caused a maximum temperature increase of 2.9°C, compared to 1.2°C for PD and 0.7°C for B-mode.
• Both transducer conduction and ultrasound wave heating contributed to the temperature rise, with SWE showing greater heating.

Conclusions:

• SWE demonstrates a higher potential for thermal effects compared to B-mode and PD ultrasound.
• Further research and regulatory evaluation are essential to determine the safety of SWE in obstetric and gynecologic applications.
• Methodological data is provided to guide future safety assessments for SWE in pregnancy.