Intraoperative real-time elastography of gliomatous tumors of the brain

Objectives: Conventional B-mode imaging is commonly used for intraoperative localization of brain tumors and able to detect the lesion in the majority of cases. Nevertheless it might be difficult to delineate tumors with infiltrating character as it is true for gliomatous tumors. We present first experiences with intraoperative real-time elastography in order to help solving these problems. Methods: Elastic properties of brain tissue are registered and analysed by the „Extended Combined Autocorrelation Method“ with an EUB 8500 ultrasound system (Hitachi Medical Systems). Elasticity is displayed as a colour-coded…