Ultrasound Tissue Characterization: Comparison of Statistical Results using Fundamental and Harmonic Signals

Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) imaging has been studied for decades to characterize biological tissue. The QUS estimates can be obtained from the envelope statistics. Previous studies are mainly based on the whole backscattered signals analysis. The present study compares the statistics of filtered fundamental and harmonic signal envelopes. Results show that the statistical estimation using second-harmonic envelops can provide tissue characterization capabilities, similarly to the one obtained with the fundamental. In addition, the parameters are also related to the non-linear property of the investigated medium.