Abstract
Palpation is routinely used for detecting pathology using the stiffness of the tissue and is more than 2000 years old. Palpation is subjective and limited to individual experience and to the accessibility of the tissue region to touch. Noninvasive images of elastic modulus may be useful to distinguish tissues and pathologic processes based on mechanical properties such as elastic modulus. Static, quasistatic, or cyclic stresses have been applied while strains have been measured using ultrasound or MRI. The related elastic modulus has been estimated from visco‐elastic models of tissue mechanics. Recently we have developed a new ultrasound technique that produces speckle free images related to both tissue stiffness and reflectivity. This method, termed Ultrasound Stimulated Vibro‐acoustography [Science 280, 83–85 (1998); PNAS 96, 6603–6608 (1999)], uses ultrasound radiation pressure to produce sound vibrations from a small region of the tissue that depend on the scattering and elastic characteristics of the tissue. The method can detect microcalcification within breasts, and promises to provide high‐quality images of calcification within the arteries. Vibro‐acoustography can detect mechanical defects in prostheses such as artificial mitral and aortic valves. The method may also be used in nondestructive evaluation. [Work supported by HL 61451, DBI 7980‐4.]
Published Version
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