High frequency ultrasonic characterization of human skin In vivo

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (p. 144-161).High frequency (>20 MHz) ultrasound has numerous potential applications in dermatology because of its ability to penetrate several millimeters into the skin and provide information at a spatial resolution of tens of microns. However, conventional B-scan images of skin tissues often lack the capability to characterize and differentiate various skin tissues. In this work, quantitative ultrasonic methods using the attenuation coefficient, backscatter coefficient, and echo envelope statistics were studied for their potential to characterize human skin tissues in vivo. A high frequency ultrasound system was developed using polymer transducers, a pulser/receiver, high-speed digitizer, 3-axis scanning system, and a PC. Data collected using three different transducers with center frequencies of 28, 30 and 44 MHz were processed to determine the characteristics of normal human dermis and subcutaneous fat. Attenuation coefficients were obtained by computing spectral slopes vs. depth, with the transducers axially translated to minimize diffraction effects. Backscatter coefficients were obtained by compensating recorded backscatter spectra for system-dependent effects, and additionally for one transducer, using the reference phantom technique. Good agreement was seen between the results from the different transducers/methods. The attenuation coefficients were well described by a linear frequency dependence whose slope showed significant differences between the forearm and fingertip dermis, but not between the forearm dermis and fat. The backscatter coefficient of the dermis showed an increasing trend with frequency and was significantly higher than that of fat.(cont.) A maximum likelihood fit of six probability distributions (Rayleigh, Rician, K, Nakagami, Weibull, and Generalized Gamma) to fluctuations in echo envelope data showed that the Generalized Gamma distribution modeled the envelope better than the other distributions. Fat was seen to exhibit significantly more pre-Rayleigh behavior than the dermis. Data were also obtained from the skin of patients patch-tested for contact dermatitis. A significant increase in skin thickness, decrease in mean backscatter of the upper dermis, and decrease in attenuation coefficient slope was found at the affected sites compared to normal skin. However, no differences in terms of echo statistics were found in the mid-dermis. These results indicate that a combination of ultrasonic parameters have the potential to non-invasively characterize skin tissues.by Balasundara I. Raju.Ph.D

Ultrasound backscatter microscope for In vivo imaging of human fingertip

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-71).by Balasundara I. Raju.M.S

Encoding and decoding of shape in tactile sensing

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (p. 100-104).by Balasundara I. Raju.M.S

Sensory Communication

Contains table of contents for Section 2, an introduction and reports on fifteen research projects.National Institutes of Health Grant RO1 DC00117National Institutes of Health Grant RO1 DC02032National Institutes of Health Contract P01-DC00361National Institutes of Health Contract N01-DC22402National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Grant 2 R01 DC00126National Institutes of Health Grant 2 R01 DC00270National Institutes of Health Contract N01 DC-5-2107National Institutes of Health Grant 2 R01 DC00100U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research/Naval Air Warfare Center Contract N61339-94-C-0087U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research/Naval Air Warfare Center Contract N61339-95-K-0014U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research/Naval Air Warfare Center Grant N00014-93-1-1399U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research/Naval Air Warfare Center Grant N00014-94-1-1079U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Subcontract 40167U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-92-J-1814National Institutes of Health Grant R01-NS33778U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-88-K-0604National Aeronautics and Space Administration Grant NCC 2-771U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Grant F49620-94-1-0236U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Agreement with Brandeis Universit