A method for characterization of tissue elastic properties combining ultrasonic computed tomography with elastography.

OBJECTIVE: The correlation between various diseases and the change in the local mechanical properties of soft tissues has been long known. Over the past 20 years, there have been increasing research efforts to characterize mechanical properties of biological tissues using ultrasonic elastography. However, most of these works were based on characterization of only 1 type of waves (longitudinal or shear). The goal of this work was to devise a comprehensive ultrasound-based imaging method capable of measuring elastic parameters by combining both backscattered elastography and through-transmitted ultrasonic computed tomography.
METHODS: Our suggested technique provides measurements of both longitudinal and shear wave velocities. This enables the noninvasive computation of several tissue elasticity parameters such as Young's and shear moduli, Poisson's ratio, and, more importantly, the bulk modulus, the determination of which requires both wave velocities. Four different phantom types were examined: agar-gelatin-based phantoms and porcine fat tissue, turkey breast tissue, and bovine liver tissue in vitro specimens. The values of Young's modulus, the shear modulus, and Poisson's ratio were estimated and were consistent with values published in the literature.
RESULTS: The average bulk modulus values of the phantoms +/- SD were 2.83 +/- 0.001, 2.25 +/- 0.01, 2.48 +/- 0.01, and 2.53 +/- 0.02 GPa, respectively. A statistically significant difference (P < .001) in the values of the bulk modulus of the different phantoms was found.
CONCLUSIONS: The bulk modulus is suitable for differentiation between different tissue types. The obtained results show the feasibility of using a comprehensive ultrasonic imaging technique for noninvasive quantitative tissue characterization.