Quantitative biomechanics using reverberant optical coherence elastography

Abstract

In this presentation, I will introduce and discuss recent developments in our effort for quantitative biomechanics of tissues and organs using a multifocal acoustic radiation force source (that combines an ultrasound transducer and a 3D-printed acoustic lens) in reverberant optical coherence elastography (Rev-OCE). An array of plano-concave acoustic lenses, each with an 11.8 mm aperture diameter, were used to spatially distribute the acoustic energy generated by a 1 MHz planar ultrasound transducer, producing multiple focal spots on a target plane. These focal spots generate reverberant shear wave fields detected by the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) system. The effectiveness of the multifocal Rev-OCE system in probing mechanical properties with high resolution is demonstrated in layered gelatin phantoms, tissues ex vivo, and whole mouse embryos in vivo.