Patent ID: 7211044

Claim:
A method for mapping temperature rise of anatomical tissue using pulse-echo ultrasound, comprising the steps of: a) obtaining a first signal of a first imaging ultrasound wave which has been reflected back from a region in the anatomical tissue at a first time; b) obtaining a second signal of a second imaging ultrasound wave which has been reflected back from the region in the anatomical tissue at a later second time wherein the tissue has received at least some medical treatment by the second time; c) computing first and second complex analytic signals from the first and second imaging signals; d) computing the depth-dependent delay from the conjugate product of the first and second analytic signals; e) generating an echo strain map from the slope of the depth-dependent delay; f) using the echo strain map to estimate the amount of temperature rise from the first imaging signal to the second imaging signal; and g) creating an image showing where temperature rise is occurring in the anatomical tissue.