Patent ID: 7744537
Filing Date: 2010-06-29
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A method for identifying a living tissue in an ultrasonic diagnosis, the method comprising the steps of: measuring displacement on a local area of a living tissue to be diagnosed in a single pulse of a pulsatile flow from a heart via ultrasound to track a large amplitude motion of said local area in said single pulse of said pulsatile flow, said local area being a part of a wall of an artery, said displacement being excited by a turbulent flow component and a vortex component in the artery, said turbulent flow component and said vortex component being generated by said pulsatile flow in the artery; calculating a maximum value of a thickness change of said wall of the artery in said single pulse of said pulsatile flow based on said tracked large amplitude motion of said local area in said single pulse of said pulsatile flow; calculating a shear elasticity or a shear viscosity of said local area based on said calculated maximum value of said thickness change of said wall of said local area; preparing, in a data library, elasticity data or viscosity data for a plurality of types of living tissue, said types of living tissue including an adipose area, a thrombus area, an elastic fiber, a collagen fiber, and a calcified area, said elasticity data including an elasticity modulus frequency histogram associated with each of the plurality of types of living tissue, said viscosity data including a viscosity modulus frequency histogram associated with each of the plurality of types of living tissue; and identifying one or more types of living tissue of said local area by comparing said measured shear elasticity with said elasticity data or said measured shear viscosity with said viscosity data.