Figure 5
Spatial distribution of spinal cord blood flow is similar in non-contrast and contrast-enhanced ultrasound. (A) Non-contrast and (B) contrast-enhanced images were taken with the probe in a constant position above the spinal cord. (C) Each image was processed into its corresponding spatial distribution curve, with the representative curve showing good agreement between the two modalities. (D) Plotting the non-contrast value of each distance bin against its associated contrast-enhanced value resulted in a Spearman’s correlation of 0.77 (p < 0.0001) in this representative rat. (E) This correlation held across multiple rats, shown here fitted to a least squares spline model for visualization, with an average correlation of 0.55 (p < 0.0001) as calculated using Fisher’s z transformation. A single rat had poor correlation, perhaps due to out-of-plane positioning of the ultrasound probe disproportionately affecting the non-contrast image.
