Abstract

Ultrasound detection of cell death

Author(s): Gregory J Czarnota and Michael C Kolios

Ultrasound has been used to detect tissue pathology since the 1960s. Although early studies were limited in terms of their appreciation of biology and the physics of ultrasound backscatter as it related to the biology of cell death, recent investigations combining rigorous and well-controlled biological experimentation and quantitative ultrasound methods have provided valuable information. Studies indicate that ultrasound may be used to detect and potentially quantify cell death in vitro, in situ and in vivo at conventional ultrasound frequencies, higher ultrasound frequencies and using ultrasound microscopy. These studies point to an important role of the cell’s nucleus and its configuration in the formation of ultrasound backscatter in addition to cellular morphology.