Three-dimensional (3D) high-frequency ultrasound images of skin and an eye

This report describes the three-dimensional (3D) visualization of skin and an eye using high-frequency ultrasound. A high-frequency ultrasound image h as high resolution of the order of 10 mum and demonstrates the detailed int ernal structure of an organ. Therefore it is suitable for visualizing the s tructure of organs such as skin and the eye. The method of 3D visualization of skin and an eye we used is as follows. Initially, a high-frequency ultr asound image was obtained by using a transducer made of lead zirconate tita nate (PZT) ceramics with a central frequency of 32 MHz. The spatial resolut ion of the image is 25 mum. Next, we applied a binarization procedure to th e image and reconstructed a 3D image using a volume-rendering technique. Fr om the results, we were able to separately image each layer of the skin and recognize the stratum corneum, epidermis and dermis. Moreover, we obtained images of the structure of the eve, that is, cornea and iris.