Nonlinear parameter imaging to characterize HIFU ablation: Preliminary in vitro results in porcine liver

In nonlinear US propagation, the B/A parameter allow to quantify the nonlinear distortion of the US pulse and the apparition of the different harmonics. Previous studies highlighted the interest of the nonlinear parameter in tissue characterization or parametric imaging. In this paper, an extended comparative method (ECM) is used to image the nonlinear parameter of in vitro porcine liver. The nonlinear parameter is imaged before and after a high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment. The resulting maps highlight the region of the lesion and show the potential of B/A imaging in HIFU applications.