New developments in ultrasonic imaging of the chest and other body organs

Conference · Thu Apr 27 04:00:00 EST 1978

OSTI ID:6789763

Campbell, G W; Anderson, A L

The ultrasonic imaging system described herein was developed to measure chest-wall thickness and the percentage of fat in the chest and around other body organs. The system uses pulse-echo techniques to transmit and detect sound waves reflected from the interfaces of body organs and adjacent tissue. A computer draws these interfaces on color scans, and a code is used to exponentially average data from several points on each scan to find the average thicknesses of the chest wall and fat layers. These average thicknesses are then used to adjust x-ray calibration factors for plutonium lung counters. The correction factor for three subjects measured for fat content ranging from 12.6 to 22.2% was 18 to 41%. The ultrasonic system also defines the shape and position of the kidneys and liver so we are able to more accurately place detectors on the body during in-vivo radiation measurements. We have also developed a technique for displaying the interfaces from a series of ultrasonic chest scans to produce a topographical map that enables us to better understand the shape and contour of the lung and chest-wall interface.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 6789763
• Report Number(s): UCRL-80340(Rev.1); CONF-780612-3; IAEA-SM-229/SM
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550600* -- Medicine
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
ADIPOSE TISSUE
BODY
BODY AREAS
CHEST
COMPUTERS
CONNECTIVE TISSUE
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
DIMENSIONS
GLANDS
IMAGE SCANNERS
KIDNEYS
LIVER
MEASURING METHODS
ORGANS
SOUND WAVES
THICKNESS
TISSUES
ULTRASONIC WAVES