Frequency-dependent attenuation reconstruction with an acoustic reflector

Attenuation of ultrasound waves varies with tissue composition, hence its estimation offers great potential for characterization and diagnosis staging pathology. We recently proposed a method that allows to spatially reconstruct the distribution overall attenuation in based on computed tomography, using reflections from passive acoustic reflector. This requires standard transducer operating pulse-echo mode calibration protocol water measurements, thus it can be implemented conventional systems minor adaptations. Herein, we extend this by additionally estimating imaging frequency-dependent nature local first time. Spatial distributions coefficient exponent are reconstructed, enabling an elaborate expressive tissue-specific characterization. With simulations, demonstrate our yields low reconstruction error 0.04 dB/cm at 1 MHz 0.08 frequency exponent. tissue-mimicking phantoms ex-vivo bovine muscle samples, high contrast as well reproducibility demonstrated. exponents gelatin-cellulose mixture sample were found be, respectively, 1.4 0.5 average, consistently different images their heterogeneous compositions. Such parametrization could enable novel diagnostic techniques, facilitate compensation other ultrasound-based techniques.