ABSTRACT

This Report presents an expansion of previous ICRU work on phantoms and computational models (ICRU Report 48) into the area of medical ultrasound. Report 61 reviews the use of tissue substitutes, phantoms and computational body models representing human tissues in medical ultrasound.

Specifications are given of those quantities that are considered important to the maintenance and development of reliable physical measurements. Tissue substitutes, phantoms and body models used to assess image quality, Doppler-equipment performance and temperature rise are considered in the Report. Detailed specifications of 43 phantoms and nine body models are included in the Report. The major sections of ICRU Report 61 are:

Introduction
Definitions and Specifications
Propagation of Ultrasound in Body Tissue
Acoustic and Thermal Properties of Body Tissue
Selection Requirements for Tissue Substitutes
Physical Characteristics of Tissue Substitute
Selection Requirements for Phantoms
Phantoms in Diagnosis and Therapy
Computational Modelling
Summary and Recommendations

An appendix tabulates acoustic and thermal properties of certain body tissues and tissue substitutes. Other appendices set out the specifications of phantoms and models and treat basic formulae used in computational modelling of thermal heating, production methods for water-based gel tissue substitutes and terms used in the Report.