Ultrasonographic Assessment of Thawing in Sea Breams(Sparus aurata) in VETERINARY SCIENCE

To assess sea bream (Sparus aurata) thawing, two ultrasonographic (US) protocols were used. The first protocol was used on 15 subjects at three different times immediately after capture, after the first thaw, and after the second thaw. A general-purpose device equipped with a linear high-frequency probe was used. On the B-mode-Real Time images, quantitative analysis of the epiaxial muscle gray levels was made. For the second protocol, a quantitative US (QUS) device was used on three groups of fish samples (fresh, thawed once, and thawed twice), each composed of five subjects. Speed of sound, bone ultrasound attenuation, bone mineral density, and quantitative ultrasound index were measured. Data were statistically compared using ANOVA (P < 0.05). Gray levels differed significantly among the three control times. QUS data differed significantly between the fresh and thawed groups. US and QUS appear to be promising techniques for assessing fish thawing.