Texture analysis on ultrasound: The effect of time gain compensation on histogram metrics and gray-level matrices

Aims: Texture analysis (TA) is becoming an increasingly used tool in radiological research. Some papers have been published on its use in ultrasound (US), but the way in which the machine settings affect the features has not yet been fully explored. With this research, we analyze how the time gain compensation (TGC) influences the features of the gray-level matrices in the abdominal US setting. Subjects and Methods: We analyzed the images acquired from the hepatorenal acoustic window of a healthy 29-year-old volunteer acquired with different TGC settings. TA was carried out using the LifeX software. Results: Several both 1^st and 2^nd order gray-level matrices features showed a strong correlation with TGC settings. Conclusions: TGC settings must be accounted for when carrying out further TA studies.