Use of Ultrasound for Non-Invasive Lipid Detection
Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh have developed a non-invasive, accurate, inexpensive tool to detect lipid content in tissues. This novel ultrasound imaging technique allows for real-time fat detection and quantification and could be easily introduced into clinics of any size.
Description
Because sound speed in lipid decreases with a change in local tissue temperature while it increases in water-bearing tissue, a device has been designed to control local temperature changes. Using high resolution phase sensitive speckle tracking, the lipid content in tissues or organ can be characterized. This non-invasive approach allows for easy monitoring of lipid content in tissues and organs to improve diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of medical conditions, including fatty liver disease and some breast tumors.Applications
1. Atherosclerosis2. Cardiovascular disease
3. Fatty liver disease
4. Other conditions linked to lipid accumulation in organs and tissues
Advantages
At present, invasive biopsies or costly MRI or CT fat quantification is required to determine the lipid content of tissues and organs. These procedures can limit the routine monitoring of lipid accumulation in tissue – an important diagnostic and treatment marker. Attempts have been made to use ultrasound based on B-scan (brightness scan) echogenicity, but these have been shown to be insensitive.Unlike the conventional gray scale imagery collected using B-scan ultrasound, this novel approach uses ultrasound thermal strain imaging (TSI) to map the organs. Through controlled temperature variation with heating or cooling pads to vary the local temperature by 1–3 °C, lipid TSI maps are reconstructed to provide detailed information on lipid characteristics of tissue and organs.