Patent ID: 9211111
Filing Date: 2015-12-15
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: applying a first ultrasound pulse to biological tissue to create shear waves in the biological tissue; transmitting a second ultrasound pulse into the biological tissue; receiving one or more ultrasound signals from the biological tissue generated in response to the second ultrasound pulse; detecting the shear waves in the biological tissue based on the received one or more ultrasound signals; determining a time to peak displacement of the shear waves at each of multiple positions in the biological tissue; determining a square of shear wave propagation velocity based on the determined time to peak displacement of the shear waves at each of the multiple positions; determining a color code representing the square of shear wave propagation velocity; and displaying an image on a display monitor in which the biological tissue is represented by a color corresponding to the color code, wherein determining the square of shear wave propagation velocity comprises: calculating a square of the time to peak displacement of the shear waves at each of the multiple positions; calculating a square of a distance of each of the multiple positions from an origin of the shear waves; and calculating a regression line and a correlation coefficient between the square of the time to peak displacement and the square of the distance from the origin of the shear waves for each of the multiple positions; determining a plurality of the multiple positions for which the correlation coefficient between the square of the time to peak displacement and the square of the distance from the origin of the shear waves for the plurality of the multiple positions is greater than a preset threshold; calculating a second regression line between the square of the time to peak displacement and the square of the distance from the origin of the shear waves for each of the plurality of the multiple positions; and determining a slope of the second regression line.