Temperature dependence of ultrasonic propagation speed and attenuation in excised canine liver tissue measured using transmitted and reflected pulses

Previous reported data from our laboratory demonstrated the temperature dependence of propagation speed and attenuation of canine tissue in vitro at discrete temperatures ranging from 25 to 95 °C. However, concerns were raised regarding heating the same tissue specimen over the entire temperature range, a process that may introduce irreversible and, presumably, cumulative tissue degradation. In this paper propagation speed and attenuation vs temperature are measured using multiple groups of samples, each group heated to a different temperature. Sample thicknesses are measured directly using a technique that uses both transmitted and reflected ultrasound pulses. Results obtained using 3 and 5 MHz center frequencies demonstrate a propagation speed elevation of around 20 m/s in the 22-60°C range, and a decrease of 15 m/s in the 60-90°C range, in agreement with previous results where the same specimens were subjected to the entire temperature range. However, sound speed results reported here are slightly higher than those reported previously, probably due to more accurate measurements of sample thickness in the present experiments. Results also demonstrate that while the propagation speed varies with temperature, it is not a function of tissue coagulation. In contrast, the attenuation coefficient depends on both tissue coagulation effects and temperature elevation.