Spectral power determinations of compressibility and density variations in model media and calf liver using ultrasound.

A model of scattering is used to relate average differential scattering cross section and power spectra of scattering medium variations. The model expresses the average differential scattering cross section as a sum of the power spectrum of medium compressibility variations, the power spectrum of density variations weighted by the square of the cosine of the scattering angle, and the cross-power spectrum of compressibility and density variations weighted by twice the cosine of the scattering angle. Known values of the average differential scattering cross section at a minimum of three different scattering angles and temporal frequencies corresponding to the same spatial frequency are used to calculate each of the three power spectra. Since noise and statistical fluctuations are present in actual measurements of average differential scattering cross section, the calculations of power spectra are obtained from an overdetermined set of equations to which a solution is found by using a singular value decomposition. Data derived from a model for scattering from a cloud of correlated particles are employed to show the influence of additive noise. Calculations are also made from measurements of scattering from three suspensions of particles that have a different average radius in each suspension but are similarly modeled by scattering from a cloud. Additionally, the calculations are applied to measurements of average differential scattering cross section of calf liver. The results show that determination of the power spectra of scattering medium variations can be made under practical conditions, and also imply that density variations contribute significantly to scattering by calf liver.