A new time domain method for estimating acoustic attenuation of soft tissue

A time-domain method, called the envelope-peak (EP) method, was recently proposed for attenuation estimation in reflection. The method has high precision and low computational overhead. However, if the bandwidth of the transmitted ultrasound pulse is very wide, the method can produce a biased estimate. The EP method is modified by preprocessing the echo signal using a split-spectrum technique. The combination of this technique with the narrowband technique enables the accuracy of the attenuation estimation to be well controlled without precise knowledge of the spectral shape and parameters of the transmitted pulse. Analysis shows that, while improving the accuracy of the attenuation estimation, the modified method retains the high precision of the original method.<>