Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging With Virtual Touch Tissue Quantification Enables Characterization of Mild Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Damage in Neonatal Rats.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the measurement of brain tissue stiffness using acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography with virtual touch tissue quantification can improve the early detection of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in rats.

METHODS: Seven-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to 3 groups: the mild asphyxia (n = 30), moderate asphyxia (n = 30), and sham control (n = 10) groups. Rats in the mild and moderate asphyxia groups were exposed to 8% oxygen (hypoxia) for 30 and 60 minutes, respectively, at 1 hour after ligation of the right common carotid artery. An ultrasound diagnostic instrument was used to obtain 2-dimensional ultrasound images, and ARFI with virtual touch tissue quantification was used to measure shear wave velocity preoperatively and at 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours postoperatively. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to evaluate brain damage.

RESULTS: Two-dimensional ultrasound imaging detected swelling and increased echogenicity at 48 to 72 hours in the mild asphyxia group and at 24 to 72 hours in the moderate asphyxia group. The shear wave velocity substantially increased from 0.65 ± 0.04 m/s preoperatively to 0.78 ± 0.07 m/s at 72 hours in the moderate asphyxia group and from 0.64 ± 0.04 m/s preoperatively to 0.70 ± 0.03 m/s at 72 hours in the mild asphyxia group. The changes in the shear wave velocity coincided with the histopathologic changes in the brain, which included neuronal demyelination, hyperplasia, and necrosis; edema around vascular structures; and hemorrhage in the ependymal and periventricular areas.

CONCLUSION: Shear wave velocity data obtained with the virtual touch tissue quantification technique may be used for early diagnosis of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain damage.