Abstract
Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) methods characterizing the backscattered echo signal
have been of use in assessing tissue microstructure. High-frequency (30 MHz) QUS methods
have been successful in detecting metastases in surgically excised lymph nodes (LNs),
but limited evidence exists regarding the efficacy of QUS for evaluating LNs in vivo at clinical frequencies (2–10 MHz). In this study, a clinical scanner and 10-MHz
linear probe were used to collect radiofrequency (RF) echo data of LNs in vivo from 19 cancer patients. QUS methods were applied to estimate parameters derived
from the backscatter coefficient (BSC) and statistics of the envelope-detected RF
signal. QUS parameters were used to train classifiers based on linear discriminant
analysis (LDA) and support vector machines (SVMs). Two BSC-based parameters, scatterer
diameter and acoustic concentration, were the most effective for accurately detecting
metastatic LNs, with both LDA and SVMs achieving areas under the receiver operating
characteristic (AUROC) curve ≥0.94. A strategy of classifying LNs based on the echo frame with the highest cancer
probability improved performance to 88% specificity at 100% sensitivity (AUROC = 0.99). These results provide encouraging evidence that QUS applied at clinical frequencies
may be effective at accurately identifying metastatic LNs in vivo, helping in diagnosis while reducing unnecessary biopsies and surgical treatments.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 02, 2022
Accepted:
October 30,
2022
Received in revised form:
September 28,
2022
Received:
August 12,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. All rights reserved.
