Confirmation of effects of scattering and attenuation in each tissue of liver on amplitude envelope statistics

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a disease in which the liver contains fat droplets and fibers, has gradually been gaining attention due to its high incidence and risk of severe complications. Combining high-frequency echo data with higher-order amplitude envelope analysis models like the double Nakagami (DN) model enhances quantitative ultrasound (QUS) accuracy of MASH. However, earlier studies have indicated that this method struggles to differentiate fat and fibrous components when they coexist. In this study, the attenuation characteristics of the ultrasound signals were analyzed collectively to amplitude envelope analysis method to improve classification accuracy. A computer-based simulation system was developed using k-Wave, a widely adopted ultrasound simulation platform that supports simultaneous modeling of scattering and attenuation. A series of numerical models with different sound speeds and acoustic attenuation properties were used for simulation. The data were collected at a center frequency of 31.25 MHz with compound plane-wave imaging (CPWI) method. And a ROI scanned the whole analysis area to estimate DN parameters and attenuation coefficient. The results show that the DN model can match the amplitude envelope characteristics of the original echo signal and estimated attenuation coefficients were found to be associated with the numerical model settings.