S150 Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology Volume 37, Number 8S, 2011

an acrylic board with a thickness of 0.2mm as an acoustic matching

layer, was applied to obtain the processed images whose information

on the undulation was excluded.

Results: All the processed images obtained almost corresponded with

the magnified optical ones, respectively. In comparison with the pro-

cessed image obtained from the swine skin before the burning proce-

dure, that after the procedure had a remarkable difference. The

processed images obtained using the AIDI method could reflect not

only the undulation but also the other information such as elasticity.

Conclusion: Our system with the AIDI method has a high potential to

become a promising modality for diagnosis of skin disorders.

P 298 ee

Quality Control for Ultrasound: A Practical Approach

M. Franken,1 C. Jeukens,2 I. Boer,3 R. Peters4

1Medical Technology and Physics, Franciscus Hospital Roosendaal,

Roosendaal/NL, 2Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+),

Maastricht/NL, 3Maasstad Hospital, Rotterdam/NL, 4Dep. of Physics

and Medical Technology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam/NL

Learning Objectives: To determine as to how to perform straightfor-

ward objective image quality assurance for ultrasound machines and

probes.

Background: Due to gradual wear, the image quality of an ultrasound

(US) machine may degrade unnoticed. A US quality control (QC)

program has the potential to objectively assess image quality and can,

for example, aid the timely replacement of degrading probes. To this

end four centres in the Netherlands started a digital image QC using

the software program UltraIQ (Cablon Medical).

Imaging Findings or Procedure Details: Measured parameters were

lateral and axial resolution, vertical and horizontal distance, penetration

depth and sensitivity. Commonly used US settings were chosen and

where possible equal settings were used among the centres. In total,

12 US machines and 12 probes of 4 different vendors were monitored

2-6 times during 12 months. The measurements were analysed in Ul-

traIQ, which resulted in a fast QC procedure of in total 30 minutes per

probe. An inter- and intra-centre comparison and trend analysis revealed

that the reproducibility was within the action levels defined by Goodsitt

[MedPhys 1998]. However, we found that measurement errors may be

introduced when US settings (hardware and software) are not exactly

reproduced.

Conclusion: Reproducible and objective QC US measurements are

feasible within a reasonable amount of time. Further work needs to be

done on optimizing the workflow and defining the action levels. Addi-

tionally, we intend to extend the QC with signal-to-noise and uniformity

measurements.

P 299 se

Study of Imaging by High Frequency Ultrasound Through

a Fused Quartz Fiber

T. Irie,1 N. Tagawa,1 M. Sato,2 T. Moriya,3 M. Yoshizawa,4 K. Itoh,5

T. Yokoyama,5 H. Kumagai,5 N. Taniguchi6

1Graduate School of System Design, Tokyo Metropolitan University,

Hino/JP, 2Microsonic Co., Ltd., Tokyo/JP, 3Tokyo Metropolitan

University, Tokyo/JP, 4Metropolitan College of Industrial Technology,

Tokyo/JP, 5Hitachi-Omiya Saiseikai Hospital, Ibaraki/JP, 6Jichi

Medical University, Tochigi/JP

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to enable an operator to observe

directly microscopic images of the tissue using a needle-type ultrasonic

probe. In this paper, we report the results for transmission of high

frequency ultrasound in an acoustic coupling medium using the trans-

mission method in order to make the tissue image.

Material &Methods: In this experiment, we measured the propagation

characteristics of high frequency ultrasonic wave in the acoustic

coupling medium (ultrasonic gel). The experimental system consists

of a pulser/receiver (Panametrics5900PR), a transmitting transducer

with 220MHz in center frequency (PanametricsV2113), a receiving

transducer with 170MHz in center frequency (PanametricsV3878),

a personal computer, an oscilloscope (Tektronix TDS5104B), and

a tapered fused quartz fiber. We measured the amplitude and the

frequency spectrum of the ultrasonic wave transmitted into the ultra-

sonic gel in each distance when the receiving transducer was moved

far from the end of the fiber.

Results:When the distance D from the end of the fiber to the receiving

transducer is 0.0 mm, the amplitude and peak frequency are approxi-

mately 1.4 VP-P and 170 MHz, respectively. And, when D is 1.8 mm,

they are approximately 0.15 VP-P and 65 MHz, respectively.

Conclusion: We could find the high frequency ultrasonic waves trans-

mitted approximately 1.8 mm in the acoustic coupling medium. We

will try to obtain the image of tissue.

P 300 ee

In Vitro and In Vivo Study of Transgenic Expression by

Ultrasound-Mediated Liposome Microbubble Destruction

Z. Chen, L. Luo

Department of Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital,

Jinan University, Guangzhou/CN

Learning Objectives: This present study was designed to test the trans-

genic expression and safety of red fluorescent protein (RFP) in Hela

cells in vitro and transplanted tumors of nude mice in vivo under ultra-

sound-mediated liposome microbubble destruction (UMLMD)

conditions.

Background:Noninvasive, efficient and tissue-specific transgenic tech-

nologies would be valuable in gene therapy. Although non-viral carriers

may be safer and cheaper, they have much lower transfection efficiency

than viral gene carriers.

Imaging Findings or Procedure Details: Plasmids containing RFP

were gently mixed with liposome microbubble (LM). The complexes

were added to Hela cells or injected into BALB/c mice through tail

vein under different ultrasound exposure and LM parameters, and then

the transfection efficiencies were examined. The results both in vivo

and in vitro demonstrated that, as compared with plasmid group, ultra-

sound + plasmid group, LM + plasmid group, UMLMD could signifi-

cantly increase the transgenic expression (P , 0.01) without causing

any apparently detrimental effect.

Conclusion: From the study, we concluded that UMLMD would be

a noninvasive, effective, promising non-viral technique for gene therapy

and transgenic research.

P 301 ee

The Optimization of Parameters on DNATransfection

Combining Ultrasound with PEI

Z. Chen, L. Luo

Department of Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital,

Jinan University, Guangzhou/CN

Learning Objectives: The study was designed to observe whether the

optimized condition of transfection efficiency forMCF-7 cells enhanced

the combination of US irradiation with contrast agent and polyethylenei-

mine (PEI) and also observe whether the combination could have

a synergistic effect to increase DNA transfection.

Background:Both PEI and the combination of US irradiation and ultra-

sonic contrast agents are promising transfection methods, but there are

few reports on systematic research about these two methods.

Imaging Findings or Procedure Details:MCF-7 cells were transfected

with the compounds prepared by the vector of plasmid DNA encoding

luciferase and PEI. The strategy of US irradiation was optimized.

Furthermore, the influencing factors, such as the concentration of