PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Ultrasound elastography has been available on most modern systems; however, the implementation of quality processes tends to be ad hoc. It is essential for a medical physicist to benchmark elastography measurements on each system and track them over time, especially after major software upgrades or repairs. This study aims to establish baseline data using phantoms and monitor them for quality assurance in elastography. In this paper, we utilized two phantoms: a set of cylinders, each with a composite material with varying Young\'s moduli, and an anthropomorphic abdominal phantom containing a liver modeled to represent early-stage fibrosis. These phantoms were imaged using three ultrasound manufacturers\' elastography functions with either point or 2D elastography. The abdominal phantom was also imaged using magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) as it is recognized as the non-invasive gold standard for staging liver fibrosis. The scaling factor was determined based on the data acquired using MR and US elastography from the same vendor. The ultrasound elastography measurements showed inconsistency between different manufacturers, but within the same manufacturer, the measurements showed high repeatability. In conclusion, we have established baseline data for quality assurance procedures and specified the criteria for the acceptable range in liver fibrosis phantoms during routine testing.
摘要：
超声弹性成像已在大多数现代系统上可用；然而，质量过程的实施往往是临时性的。对于医学物理学家来说，对每个系统的弹性成像测量进行基准测试并随着时间的推移进行跟踪是至关重要的。特别是在重大软件升级或维修之后。本研究旨在使用体模建立基线数据，并对其进行监测，以确保弹性成像的质量。在本文中,我们利用了两个体模：一组圆柱体，每个都有不同杨氏模量的复合材料，和一个拟人化的腹部模型，其中包含一个模拟的肝脏，以代表早期纤维化。这些体模使用三个超声制造商的弹性成像功能与点或2D弹性成像成像。腹部体模也使用磁共振弹性成像（MRE）成像，因为它被认为是分期肝纤维化的非侵入性金标准。基于使用来自同一供应商的MR和US弹性成像采集的数据来确定缩放因子。超声弹性成像测量显示不同制造商之间不一致，但是在同一个制造商内，测量显示出高重复性。总之,我们已经建立了质量保证程序的基线数据,并规定了常规检测期间肝纤维化模型可接受范围的标准.
