The use of acoustic streaming in breast lesion diagnosis: A clinical study

Results from a clinical study are presented, in which ultrasonically-induce d acoustic streaming was successfully used to differentiate fluid-filled le sions (cysts) from solid lesions in the breast. In this study, high-intensi ty ultrasound pulses from a modified commercial scanner were used to induce acoustic streaming in cyst fluid, and this motion was detected using Doppl er methods, Acoustic streaming was generated and detected in 14 of 15 simpl e cysts, and 4 of 14 sonographically indeterminate breast lesions, This les ion differentiation method appears to be particularly suited for diagnosis of small, possibly newer, cysts that appear indeterminate on conventional s onography due to their size, The results indicate that this method would be a useful adjunct to conventional sonography for the purpose of breast lesi on classification. (C) 1998 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & B iology.