ULTRASOUND ASSESSMENT OF LIVER AND KIDNEY BRIGHTNESS IN INFANTS - USE OF THE GRAY-LEVEL HISTOGRAM

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES. Ultrasonic image analysis aims to provide information related to tissue histology. Routine ultrasonography uses subjective criteria for analysis. Quantitation of the image is expected to aid diagnosis and may be helpful in follow-up of pathology. The authors describe normal findings in infant liver and kidney. METHODS. Texture parameters derived from the gray-level histogram and the first order statistics from the ultrasound images of the liver, right kidney, and a tissue-mimicking phantom in 50 newborn infants were studied. RESULTS. A set of normal values for mean and standard deviation of the histogram for infant liver and kidney was established. Results of a time-related study indicate that in infants the liver is not a good internal standard for tissue characteristic comparison. CONCLUSIONS. The method described and results obtained provide a basis of normality for further studies of pathology in infant renal and hepatic disease.