Elastic Modulus Images Research Articles

Multiple techniques to evaluate the relationship between carotid artery plaque and acute stroke.

To evaluate the important characteristics of the plaque vulnerability using multimodal ultrasound imaging methods (2D, contrast-enhanced ultrasound, and elastography), and to explore the relationship between plaque and acute stroke. A total of 244 patients with carotid plaque were enrolled, including 104 patients with acute stroke ipsilateral to the plaque as the case group and 140 patients as the control group. All patients underwent conventional carotid ultrasound, contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and elastography (SWE). The results of each examination were compared and analyzed, and the relationship between the results and the occurrence of stroke was discussed. In the acute stroke group, the men, with a history of alcohol consumption the direction of contrast media diffusion was higher than that in the control group, but the plaque gray value (GSM), maximum, average and minimum Young's elastic modulus imaging values (YM) were slightly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that waist to body ratio (WHtR), GSM, YM, neovascularization density and contrast diffusion direction were independent risk factors for predicting acute ischemic stroke. The influence degree of each factor from strong to weak was waist to body ratio, neovascularity density, GSM and YM, respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) for the diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke by regression model was 0.746. The combination of multiple ultrasound techniques to evaluate the vulnerability of carotid plaque and predict the occurrence of acute stroke provides valuable information for clinical decision making.

Quantitative Evaluation of In Vivo Corneal Biomechanical Properties after SMILE and FLEx Surgery by Acoustic Radiation Force Optical Coherence Elastography.

The purpose of this study is to quantitatively evaluate the differences in corneal biomechanics after SMILE and FLEx surgery using an acoustic radiation force optical coherence elastography system (ARF-OCE) and to analyze the effect of the corneal cap on the integrity of corneal biomechanical properties. A custom ring array ultrasound transducer is used to excite corneal tissue to produce Lamb waves. Depth-resolved elastic modulus images of the in vivo cornea after refractive surgery were obtained based on the phase velocity of the Lamb wave. After refractive surgery, the average elastic modulus of the corneal flap decreased (71.7 ± 24.6 kPa), while the elastic modulus of the corneal cap increased (219.5 ± 54.9 kPa). The average elastic modulus of residual stromal bed (RSB) was increased after surgery, and the value after FLEx (305.8 ± 48.5 kPa) was significantly higher than that of SMILE (221.3 ± 43.2 kPa). Compared with FLEx, SMILE preserved most of the anterior stroma with less change in corneal biomechanics, which indicated that SMILE has an advantage in preserving the integrity of the corneal biomechanical properties. Therefore, the biomechanical properties of the cornea obtained by the ARF-OCE system may be one of the essential indicators for evaluating the safety of refractive surgery.

In Situ Force Microscopy to Investigate Fracture in Stretchable Electronics: Insights on Local Surface Mechanics and Conductivity.

Stretchable conductors are of crucial relevance for emerging technologies such as wearable electronics, low-invasive bioelectronic implants, or soft actuators for robotics. A critical issue for their development regards the understanding of defect formation and fracture of conducting pathways during stress–strain cycles. Here we present a combination of atomic force microscopy (AFM) methods that provides multichannel images of surface morphology, conductivity, and elastic modulus during sample deformation. To develop the method, we investigate in detail the mechanical interactions between the AFM tip and a stretched, free-standing thin film sample. Our findings reveal the conditions to avoid artifacts related to sample bending modes or resonant excitations. As an example, we analyze strain effects in thin gold films deposited on a soft silicone substrate. Our technique allows one to observe the details of microcrack opening during tensile strain and their impact on local current transport and surface mechanics. We find that although the film fractures into separate fragments, at higher strain a current transport is sustained by a tunneling mechanism. The microscopic observation of local defect formation and their correlation to local conductivity will provide insight into the design of more robust and fatigue resistant stretchable conductors.

Reconstructing the shear modulus contrast of linear elastic and isotropic media in quasi-static ultrasound elastography.

This study focuses on the reconstruction of the shear modulus contrast in linear elastic and isotropic media, in quasi-static ultrasound elastography. The method proposed is based on the variational formulation of the equilibrium equations and on the choice of adapted discretization spaces to estimate the parameters of interest. Experimental results obtained with CIRS phantoms are presented, for which regions with different mechanical properties can be clearly identified in the stiffness contrast maps. Elastic modulus images collected with a shear-wave elastography technique from a clinical ultrasound scanner (Aixplorer) are also provided for comparison. Results show very similar values for the modulus ratios determined by the two elastography approaches.

Does group velocity always reflect elastic modulus in shear wave elastography?

.Dynamic elastography is an attractive method to evaluate tissue biomechanical properties. Recently, it was extended from US- and MR-based modalities to optical ones, such as optical coherence tomography for three-dimensional (3-D) imaging of propagating mechanical waves in subsurface regions of soft tissues, such as the eye. The measured group velocity is often used to convert wave speed maps into 3-D images of the elastic modulus distribution based on the assumption of bulk shear waves. However, the specific geometry of OCE measurements in bounded materials such as the cornea and skin calls into question elasticity reconstruction assuming a simple relationship between group velocity and shear modulus. We show that in layered media the bulk shear wave assumption results in highly underestimated shear modulus reconstructions and significant structural artifacts in modulus images. We urge the OCE community to be careful in using the group velocity to evaluate tissue elasticity and to focus on developing robust reconstruction methods to accurately reconstruct images of the shear elastic modulus in bounded media.

Spatial resolution and property contrast in local mechanical mapping of polymer blends using AFM dynamic force spectroscopy

The spatial resolution and the contrast in mechanical property mapping by atomic force microscopy (AFM) modes based on dynamic force-curve acquisition, HarmoniX™(HMX) and Peak-Force-Tapping-QNM™(PFT-QNM) modes, are discussed in terms of contact radius, probe type and imaging parameters. The study is based on model polymer samples including elastomers, thermoplastics and thermoset resins and on contact mechanics considerations to provide a better understanding of the main parameters governing spatial resolution and property contrast in AFM-based nanomechanical mapping. The tip-sample interaction area and volume characterized by the contact radius are the key parameters governing the spatial resolution in adhesion force and elastic modulus images, respectively. The contrast in mechanical properties depends on the proper choice of the probe and on the control of the pixel size and the imaging force. The study also demonstrates that all these parameters are mutually interconnected and may have contradictory influences.

Fast and high-resolution mapping of elastic properties of biomolecules and polymers with bimodal AFM.

Fast, high-resolution mapping of heterogeneous interfaces with a wide elastic modulus range is a major goal of atomic force microscopy (AFM). This goal becomes more challenging when the nanomechanical mapping involves biomolecules in their native environment. Over the years, several AFM-based methods have been developed to address this goal. However, none of these methods combine sub-nanometer spatial resolution, quantitative accuracy, fast data acquisition speed, wide elastic modulus range and operation in physiological solutions. Here, we present detailed procedures for generating high-resolution maps of the elastic properties of biomolecules and polymers using bimodal AFM. This requires the simultaneous excitation of the first two eigenmodes of the cantilever. An amplitude modulation (AM) feedback acting on the first mode controls the tip-sample distance, and a frequency modulation (FM) feedback acts on the second mode. The method is fast because the elastic modulus, deformation and topography images are obtained simultaneously. The method is efficient because only a single data point per pixel is needed to generate the aforementioned images. The main stages of the bimodal imaging are sample preparation, calibration of the instrument, tuning of the microscope and generation of the nanomechanical maps. In addition, with knowledge of the deformation, bimodal AFM enables reconstruction of the true topography of the surface. It takes ~9 h to complete the whole procedure.

Behavior of mortar exposed to different exposure conditions of sulfate attack

The sulfate deterioration of cement-based materials has become severe durability problems for the offshore structures. Considering the various service conditions such as splash and tidal zone with/without sulfate attack, the behavior of mortar samples under full immersion and dry-wetting cycles with 0% and 5% Na2SO4 solution, i.e., four exposure conditions, was investigated in this research. Compressive strength, elastic modulus, permeability (water permeability coefficient), expansion behavior and SEM images were tested and analyzed. The results showed that the behavior of mortar evolved in two stages, initial improvement followed by later degradation, determined by two competitive effects under each condition. Different deterioration mechanisms worked in the different exposure conditions. We proposed binomial formulas to describe the evolutions of the compressive strength and water permeability, and we further applied them in other researches well. Meanwhile, there was a linear relationship between elastic modulus and square root of compressive strength. Furthermore, the relation between water permeability and compressive strength was highly dependent on exposure types and time. Study showed that compressive strength and water permeability coefficient can be selected as controlling parameters in in-situ tests, and a possible approach to evaluate the sulfate deterioration level of concrete structures in-situ was represented.

Breast Ultrasound Elastography Using Full Inversion-Based Elastic Modulus Reconstruction

Several cancer types, including breast cancer, are associated with tissue structural changes that yield tissue stiffening. Clinical breast examination (CBE) is a physical examination of the breast to find palpable breast tumors. This test lacks accuracy necessary for effective assessment and diagnosis of breast cancer. To develop an effective breast cancer diagnostic technique, an imaging method is proposed that maps the distribution of breast tissue relative elasticity modulus. Unlike CBE, this technique is quantitative; hence, it is expected that its accuracy is independent of the physician's experience. The proposed technique is a quasi-static elastography technique which uses radiofrequency data acquired through ultrasound imaging to determine both axial and lateral tissue displacements resulting from tissue mechanical stimulation. These displacements serve as input data for elastography image reconstruction. The reconstruction technique is developed using a full inversion framework where elastic tissue deformation equations are inverted using an iterative process. Each iteration in this process involves stress computation using finite-element analysis followed by updating elastic modulus until convergence is achieved. The proposed technique was validated by two tissue mimicking phantom studies before it was successfully applied to a clinical case. The two independent phantom studies demonstrated the robustness of the proposed method demonstrated by reconstruction errors of less than 12%. Elastic modulus images of the clinical case were compared to corresponding B-modes images where cancerous areas were identified as hypo-echoic areas. This comparison indicated marked tissue stiffening in those areas. Results obtained from the phantom and patient studies conducted in this study indicate that the proposed method is reasonably accurate; hence, the technique can be potentially used for quantitative assessment of breast cancer. The elasticity reconstruction algorithm developed in this work can be easily implemented on clinical ultrasound systems with no requirement to any additional hardware attachment for mechanical stimulation or data acquisition. As such, it can be applied as a low cost and potentially widely available technology for breast cancer diagnosis.

Relative Elastic Modulus Imaging Using Sector Ultrasound Data for Abdominal Applications: An Evaluation of Strategies and Feasibility.

We reconstruct the elastic modulus distribution for one tissue mimicking (TM) phantom and two in vivo biopsy-confirmed liver tumors using curvilinear ultrasound echo data. Spatial distribution of the relative elastic modulus values is determined by solving an inverse problem within a region of interest (ROI). This inverse problem solution requires knowledge of the ultrasonically measured displacement field in a uniform rectilinear grid to ensure that the resolution on the resultant relative elastic modulus elastogram will be uniform over the entire ROI. Taking advantage of a new speckle tracking algorithm, two different displacement tracking strategies are investigated: 1) sector-shaped ultrasound data were converted to ultrasound data on a rectilinear grid prior to speckle tracking and 2) axial and lateral displacements directly obtained from sector-shaped data were converted to vertical and horizontal displacements on a rectilinear grid after speckle tracking. Compared with strain elastography (SE), TM phantom results show that relative elastic modulus imaging (REMI) using Strategy 2 provided higher contrast-to-noise ratios (>300% and 25% increases compared with SE and REMI using Strategy 1, respectively). Furthermore, in phantoms, REMI using Strategy 2 more accurately (a 1.3% difference to shear wave elastography measurements) estimated the elastic contrast ratio between the target and the background, compared with both SE (20%-25%) and REMI using Strategy 1 (4.1%). It was also observed that relative modulus elastograms were more consistent with anatomical structures visualized on corresponding B-mode images for the two in vivo liver cases. Overall, we conclude that applying REMI is feasible for abdominal organs such as the liver. Strategy 2 offered improved and consistent results for the data investigated.

Noninvasive In-Vivo Quantification of Mechanical Heterogeneity of Invasive Breast Carcinomas.

Heterogeneity is a hallmark of cancer whether one considers the genotype of cancerous cells, the composition of their microenvironment, the distribution of blood and lymphatic microvasculature, or the spatial distribution of the desmoplastic reaction. It is logical to expect that this heterogeneity in tumor microenvironment will lead to spatial heterogeneity in its mechanical properties. In this study we seek to quantify the mechanical heterogeneity within malignant and benign tumors using ultrasound based elasticity imaging. By creating in-vivo elastic modulus images for ten human subjects with breast tumors, we show that Young’s modulus distribution in cancerous breast tumors is more heterogeneous when compared with tumors that are not malignant, and that this signature may be used to distinguish malignant breast tumors. Our results complement the view of cancer as a heterogeneous disease on multiple length scales by demonstrating that mechanical properties within cancerous tumors are also spatially heterogeneous.

Quantifying mechanical heterogeneity of breast tumors using quantitative ultrasound elastography

Heterogeneity is a hallmark of cancer whether one considers the genotype of cancerous cells, the composition of their microenvironment, the distribution of blood and lymphatic microvasculature, or the spatial distribution of the desmoplastic reaction. It is logical to expect that this heterogeneity in tumor microenvironment will lead to spatial heterogeneity in its mechanical properties. In this study we seek to quantify the mechanical heterogeneity within malignant and benign tumors using ultrasound based elasticity imaging. By creating in-vivo elastic modulus images for ten human subjects with breast tumors, we show that Young’s modulus distribution in cancerous breast tumors is more heterogeneous when compared with tumors that are not malignant, and that this signature may be used to distinguish malignant breast tumors. Our results complement the view of cancer as a heterogeneous disease by demonstrating that mechanical properties within cancerous tumors are also spatially heterogeneous. [Work supported by NIH, NSF.]

Boundary condition-free elastic modulus reconstructions from ultrasound measured quasi-static displacements

Quantitative elastic modulus imaging from quasi-static displacement data requires the solution of an inverse elasticity problem. The inverse problem formulation generally requires specification of either displacement or traction boundary conditions. Most current ultrasound devices are not capable of measuring traction data, and the measured displacement field is noisy. The incomplete and imprecise nature of the available boundary information often necessitates that educated guesses be made in order to have adequate knowledge of the boundary conditions to compute mechanical properties. These assumed boundary conditions, however, can to lead to errors in the reconstructions. This abstract proposes a method to perform reconstructions without knowing the boundary conditions a priori. This method relies on using the constrain imposed by the equilibrium equation and an optimization algorithm to estimate the modulus field. This method was verified with simulated displacement data, validated with phantom displacement data, and applied to in-vivo displacement data measured from patients with breast masses. [Authors gratefully acknowledge funding from NSF and NIH (NSF Grant No. 50201109; NIH NCI-R01CA140271).]

Boundary conditions in quantitative elastic modulus imaging

Quantitative elastic modulus imaging from quasistatic strain fields has several advantages over other approaches. It requires no specialized hardware, provides spatial resolution nearly commensurate with Bmode, and may be extended to quantitative nonlinear modulus imaging in a straightforward way. It has the drawback, however, of requiring the solution of a complex inverse problem with an ultrasound measured displacement field. The most common approach to solving the inverse problem is iterative optimization. To solve the inverse problem, the experimental configuration is simulated. Material property distributions in the simulated experiment are then varied until the simulated deformation field matches the observed deformation field. The weak link in this process is uncertainty in the experimental conditions. In the context of iterative inversion, this translates into uncertainty in the boundary conditions of the forward model. In this talk, we discuss how different choices of displacement and/or traction boundary conditions affect the inverse problem's solution using phantom and clinical breast data. We show that a Bayesian estimate of the displacement field in the face of uncertain boundary conditions can be implemented by spring finite elements on the domain boundary. [Authors gratefully acknowledge funding from NSF and NIH (NSF SI2 Grant No. 1148111; NIH NCI-R01CA140271).]

Towards clinical prostate ultrasound elastography using full inversion approach

Various types of cancers including prostate cancer are known to be associated with biological changes that lead to tissue stiffening. Digital rectal examination is based on manually palpating the prostate tissue via the rectum. This test lacks sufficient accuracy required for early diagnosis which is necessary for effective management of prostate cancer. To develop an effective prostate cancer diagnostic technique, the authors propose an imaging technique that maps the distribution of the relative prostate tissue's elasticity modulus. Unlike digital rectal examination, this technique is quantitative, capable of accurately detecting small prostate lesions that cannot be sensed by manual palpation, and its accuracy is independent of the physician's experience. The proposed technique is a quasistatic elastography technique which uses ultrasound imaging to acquire tissue displacements resulting from transrectal ultrasound mechanical stimulation. The system involves a standard ultrasound imaging unit with accessibility to its radiofrequency data. The displacements are used as data for the tissue elasticity reconstruction. This reconstruction does not require tissue segmentation and is based on physics governing tissue mechanics. It is formulated using an inverse problem framework where elastic tissue deformation equations are fully inverted using an iterative scheme where each iteration involves stress calculation followed by elastic modulus updating until convergence is achieved.In silico and tissue mimicking phantom studies were conducted to validate the proposed technique, followed by a clinical pilot study involving two prostate cancer patients with whole-mount histopathology analysis on prostatectomy specimens to confirm a cancer location. The phantom studies demonstrated robustness and reasonably high accuracy of the proposed method. Obtained Young's modulus ratios indicated reconstruction errors of less than 12%. Reconstructed elastic modulus images of the two clinical cases were compared to whole-mount histopathology slides where cancerous areas were identified. This comparison indicated marked tissue stiffening in the cancer area with reasonably accurate consistency observed between cancerous lesions identified by histopathology and high stiffness areas of the elastography images. Results obtained from the phantom and patient studies indicate that the proposed method is reasonably accurate for detecting cancerous lesions. The proposed system does not require any additional hardware attachment for mechanical stimulation or data acquisition while the elasticity reconstruction algorithm can be easily implemented, leading to a low cost system that can be potentially utilized as an effective clinical tool for prostate cancer diagnosis.

Linear and Nonlinear Elastic Modulus Imaging: An Application to Breast Cancer Diagnosis

We reconstruct the in vivo spatial distribution of linear and nonlinear elastic parameters in ten patients with benign (five) and malignant (five) tumors. The mechanical behavior of breast tissue is represented by a modified Veronda-Westmann model with one linear and one nonlinear elastic parameter. The spatial distribution of these elastic parameters is determined by solving an inverse problem within the region of interest (ROI). This inverse problem solution requires the knowledge of the displacement fields at small and large strains. The displacement fields are measured using a free-hand ultrasound strain imaging technique wherein, a linear array ultrasound transducer is positioned on the breast and radio frequency echo signals are recorded within the ROI while the tissue is slowly deformed with the transducer. Incremental displacement fields are determined from successive radio-frequency frames by employing cross-correlation techniques. The rectangular regions of interest were subjectively selected to obtain low noise displacement estimates and therefore were variables that ranged from 346 to 849.6 mm2 . It is observed that malignant tumors stiffen at a faster rate than benign tumors and based on this criterion nine out of ten tumors were correctly classified as being either benign or malignant.

침하가능성 확인을 위한 자갈도상 철도노반의 탄성계수 단층영상화

최근 경부고속철도 자갈도상 구간의 일부에서 침하가 발생되고 이로 인하여 열차의 안전 및 운행속도와 승차감 저하라는 문제가 발생하였다. 따라서 이 문제를 해결하고 KTX 열차 운행을 정상화하기 위한 긴급대책이 요구된 적이 있었다. 본 논문에서는 이러한 현장의 요구에 대처하기 위해 철도노반 단층영상화 기법을 도입하게 되었다. 철도노반 단층영상화 기법은 철도노반의 지반강성을 단층영상의 형태로 가시화함으로써, 잠재적으로 과도한 침하를 유발할 수 있는 철도노반의 연약부위를 찾는데 있어서 현장기술자의 신속한 판단을 가능하게 하는 기법이다. 제안된 기법의 타당성과 적용성을 평가하기 위하여 실제 자갈도상 철도노반과 신설 철도노반 등 두 현장에 적용하여 보았고, SASW, PBT, DCP, FWD 시험결과와 비교하였다. Recently a limited section of trackbed with ballast at KTX railway were reported to have settled down and led to problems such as reduced speed and passenger discomfort. Therefore, an urgent remedy for the settled trackbed is required to recover normal operation of KTX trains. In this paper, a new technique is proposed to visualize the elastic modulus of cross sections at railway trackbeds under ballast for practical identification of potential settlement. The proposed technique is based on ICSW technique, enabling use of impact source and overcoming inherent limitations of CSW method. To verify validity and feasibility of the proposed method, the method was employed to construct cross-sectional images of elastic modulus of two railway trackbeds and compared with other tests such as SASW, PBT, DCP and portable FWD tests.

3-D FDTD simulation of shear waves for evaluation of complex modulus imaging

The Navier equation describing shear wave propagation in 3-D viscoelastic media is solved numerically with a finite differences time domain (FDTD) method. Solutions are formed in terms of transverse scatterer velocity waves and then verified via comparison to measured wave fields in heterogeneous hydrogel phantoms. The numerical algorithm is used as a tool to study the effects on complex shear modulus estimation from wave propagation in heterogeneous viscoelastic media. We used an algebraic Helmholtz inversion (AHI) technique to solve for the complex shear modulus from simulated and experimental velocity data acquired in 2-D and 3-D. Although 3-D velocity estimates are required in general, there are object geometries for which 2-D inversions provide accurate estimations of the material properties. Through simulations and experiments, we explored artifacts generated in elastic and dynamic-viscous shear modulus images related to the shear wavelength and average viscosity.

Ultrasound-based relative elastic modulus imaging for visualizing thermal ablation zones in a porcine model

The feasibility of using ultrasound-based elastic modulus imaging to visualize thermal ablation zones in an in vivo porcine model is reported. Elastic modulus images of soft tissues are estimated as an inverse optimization problem. Ultrasonically measured displacement data are utilized as inputs to determine an elastic modulus distribution that provides the best match to this displacement field. A total of 14 in vivo thermal ablation zones were investigated in this study. To determine the accuracy of delineation of each thermal ablation zone using elastic modulus imaging, the dimensions (lengths of long and short axes) and the area of each thermal ablation zone obtained from an elastic modulus image were compared to the corresponding gross pathology photograph of the same ablation zone. Comparison of elastic modulus imaging measurements and gross pathology measurements showed high correlation with respect to the area of thermal ablation zones (Pearson coefficient = 0.950 and p < 0.0001). The radiological–pathological correlation was slightly lower (correlation = 0.853, p < 0.0001) for strain imaging among these 14 in vivo ablation zones. We also found that, on average, elastic modulus imaging can more accurately depict thermal ablation zones, when compared to strain imaging (14.7% versus 22.3% absolute percent error in area measurements, respectively). Furthermore, elastic modulus imaging also provides higher (more than a factor of 2) contrast-to-noise ratios for evaluating these thermal ablation zones than those on corresponding strain images, thereby reducing inter-observer variability. Our preliminary results suggest that elastic modulus imaging might potentially enhance the ability to visualize thermal ablation zones, thereby improving assessment of ablative therapies.

DLC and UHMWPE as hard/soft composite film on Si for improved tribological performance

The main purpose of this study is to explore the advantages of using a composite thin film of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) on a hard diamond like carbon (DLC) coating deposited on Si, for high wear life and low coefficient of friction. The experiments are carried out using a ball-on-disc tribometer at a constant linear speed of 0.052 m/s. A 4 mm diameter silicon nitride ball with a normal load of 40 mN is used as the counterface. The tribological results are discussed on the basis of hardness, elastic modulus, contact area, contact pressure and optical images of surface films. As a result of higher load carrying capacity (high hardness and elastic modulus), the wear life of Si/DLC/UHMWPE coated layer is approximately five times greater than that of Si/UHMWPE. Looking at the film thickness effect, UHMWPE film shows maximum wear resistance when the film is of optimum thickness (6.2 μm–12.3 μm) on DLC. Wear mechanisms of different UHMWPE thicknesses for Si/DLC/UHMWPE film are explained using optical microscopy of worn surfaces. Further, the use of perfluoropolyether (PFPE) ultra-thin film as the top layer on the composite coatings reduces the coefficient of friction to very low values (0.06–0.07) and increases the wear life of the films by several folds.