Didié-Zimmermann2014_Protocol_UltrasoundTechniquesForTheDete-学术期刊.pdfVIP

Chapter 13 Ultrasound Techniques for the Detection of Tumors and Metastases in Small Animals Michael Didié and Wolfram-Hubertus Zimmermann Abstract Small animals are widely used for the identifi cation of new therapeutic targets and the evaluation of potential anticancer therapies. To study tumors and metastasis in longitudinal studies of tumor progression, fast noninvasive and easy-to-handle imaging modalities are required. Here, techniques for the analysis of tumors and metastases by ultrasound imaging are described and the potential technical pitfalls are discussed. Key words Ultrasound, Sonography, Biomicroscopy, Tumor, Metastasis, Small animals 1 Introduction The identifi cation and analysis of tumors and metastases by ultra- sound is a well-established method in humans [1–4]. The transfer of this method to small animals like mice is not trivial because sub- stantially increased spatial resolution is required. In the past few years ultrasound systems specifi cally designed to meet the challenges of ultrasound applications in mice have been developed [5, 6]. In these systems transducers are used that emit ultrasound with much higher frequencies than clinical systems resulting in a resolution of tissue structures below 100 μm (the so-called biomicroscopy). The imaging of tumors and metastases by ultrasound is a noninvasive technique relying on the emission and detection of ultrasound refl ected by tissue boundaries (Fig. 1), thus making it a