Beyond 30 MHz [applications of high-frequency ultrasound imaging]

Abstract
Most medical ultrasound imaging systems operate in the frequency range from 3 to 10 MHz and can resolve objects approximately 1 mm in size. In the mid 1980s, new transducer materials led to the development of the first transducers suitable for high-frequency (30-100 MHz) clinical imaging. These high-frequency transducers can provide images of subsurface structures with microscopic resolution. In this article, the authors introduce the basic principles of high-frequency ultrasound imaging and discuss six applications of this new technology: eye imaging, skin imaging, catheter-based intravascular imaging, intra-articular imaging, high-frequency flow imaging, and in-vivo imaging of mouse embryonic development. These examples illustrate a few of the potential applications of high-frequency ultrasound in medicine and biology.