ARFI imaging of thermal lesions in ex vivo and in vivo soft tissues

The ability of ARFI imaging to monitor the ablation of soft tissues both ex vivo and in vivo was investigated. Thermal lesions were induced both in freshly excised bovine liver samples and in myocardial tissue of live sheep. While conventional sonography was unable to visualize induced lesions, ARFI imaging was capable of monitoring lesion size and boundaries. Good agreement was observed between lesion size in ARFI images and in results from pathology. The fact that ARFI imaging requires no additional equipment aside from that needed for conventional ultrasonic imaging makes it a promising modality for monitoring ablation procedures in vivo, especially in situations where sonography is already involved as a guiding mechanism, such as in many procedures requiring precise catheter placement.