Scattering of ultrasound by tissues.

Scattering of ultrasound by biological tissues (continuous-inhomogeneous media) is discussed. An analytical expression for the attenuation due to scattering (alpha Tsc) and backscatter coefficients (sigma T) of tissues are obtained. The results explain the variation of alpha Tsc and sigma T with frequency for a number of tissues. The study also provides two statistical parameters, velocity fluctuation coefficient and correlation length, in terms of which the scattering of tissues can be defined quantitatively.