A soundfield correction method by means of reference phantoms in the investigation of acoustical attenuation and backscattering of human tissue

Some pathological processes cause alterations of the mechanical properties of the tissue. So the estimation of acoustical attenuation and backscattering can be very useful in diagnosis. If for the calculation the rf data from a b-mode-system are used, several corrections of the device characteristics have to be done firstly. Due to the focusing capabilities of modern ultrasound scanners there is a special distribution of pressure for every transducer. To obtain a correction function for this effect the backscattered data from reference phantoms are used. We proved the estimation of acoustical attenuation with this method in phantoms and human testis