scope:

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.