Considerations for Quantitative Characterization of Biological Tissues by Scanning Acoustic Microscopy

The acoustic microscope has received much attention as a new research tool to measure acoustic properties of biological tissues on a microscopic scale. A reflection-type acoustic microscope system for the use was reported at the previous symposium [1], In that system, acoustic velocity and attenuation were determined approximately from measured phase and amplitude, using the simplest model analysis for which acoustic multiple reflections and viscosity in a tissue section, layered on a substrate, were neglected.