Strain imaging of internal deformation.

A tissue-like gelatin elasticity-flow phantom was examined to develop ultrasonic strain imaging for the detection of internal pulsatile deformations. The same imaging technique was then applied in vivo to monitor deformation in tissues surrounding the normal brachial artery. The results suggest that vascular strain patterns resulting from biologic stimuli are very different from those generated using externally applied stress fields, and are directly related to pressure variations within the vessel. These data suggest a potential role for strain imaging in measuring the relative pressure or vascular elasticity locally and noninvasively.