Ultrasound backscatter microscopy

The principle, design considerations, and operation of a C-mode, 100-MHz ultrasound backscatter microscope are described. Applications of the C-mode microscope, as well as of a new real time B-mode UBM, to the imaging of an in vitro tumor model and ocular tissue are presented. Central to these developments has been the construction of PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) transducers with sufficient sensitivity to detect the small backscatter signals from biological materials and bandwidth capable of giving an axial resolution of approximately 10 mu m. The lateral resolution achieved is 17.5 mu m in the C-scanner using an f/1.33 transducer and 36 mu m in the B-scanner, which uses an f/2 transducer. Future developments are also discussed.<>