Feasability of a ARFI/B-mode/Doppler system for real-time, freehand scanning of the cardiovascular system
Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging has been previously described for the visualization of the cardiovascular system, including assessment of cerebral and lower-limb vascular disease, myocardial function, and cardiac RF ablation monitoring. Given that plaque imposes a 3-dimensional burden on the artery and that accurate visualization of all lesion borders are important for ablation guidance, it would be convenient if an entire plaque or lesion volume could be acquired, either using a 3D system or 2D freehand scanning. Currently, ARFI imaging uses single-frame acquisition, with acquisition times ranging from 100-200ms. Such a system would be cumbersome for real-time, freehand scanning. In this work, we evaluate the feasibility of using ARFI for freehand, real-time scanning of the cardiovascular system. New techniques are presented which acquire B-mode / ARFI/ and Color-flow Doppler (BACD) information in less than 50 ms. Freehand feasibility is evaluated by sweeping the BACD system across lesion phantoms and vascular phantoms modeling a thin-cap fibroatheroma at sweep rates currently utilized in conventional B-mode systems. Stationary in vivo BACD images were then formed from the carotid artery of a canine model, demonstrating the system's potential. The results suggest that little loss in either ARFI or Doppler quality occurs during translational-stage controlled, quasi-freehand sweeps. © 2011 Copyright Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).
