Ultrasonic imaging of internal vibration of soft tissue under forced vibration

Abstract

An imaging system that can display both the amplitude and phase maps of internal vibration in soft tissues for forced low-frequency vibration is described. In this method, low-frequency sinusoidal vibration of frequency under several hundred hertz is applied from the surface of the sample and the resulting movement in it is measured from the Doppler frequency shift of the simultaneously transmitted probe ultrasonic waves. Basic experiments are carried out by using 3.0-MHz ultrasonic waves. The two-dimensional maps of the amplitude and phase of internal vibration are shown, and the velocities of vibration are measured for some samples as well as in vivo.

Congruence of Imaging Estimators and Mechanical Measurements of Viscoelastic Properties of Soft Tissues

“…The principle of the study is the same as that of the shear wave estimation method developed by Yamakoshi et al (1990). The propagation of low-frequency vibration (40 Hz) in the liver was observed with a conventional Doppler imaging system, and the velocities related to shear elasticity were measured by vibration phase images.…”

“…In the past two decades, five major elasticity imaging modalities have been established to non-invasively image hard lesions in soft tissues based on their elasticity contrast. They are either ultrasound (US)-based approaches such as vibration sonoelastography (Krouskop et al 1987;Lerner et al 1988;Parker et al 1990;Yamakoshi et al 1990), compression elastography (Ophir et al 1991), transient elastography (Catheline et al 1999;Sandrin et al 2002a;Sandrin et al 2002b) and acoustic radiation force (ARF)-related imaging (Bercoff et al 2004;Fatemi and Greenleaf 1998;Nightingale et al 2001;Sarvazyan et al 1998), or magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-based approaches such as static MR elastography (MRE) (Fowlkes et al 1995;Plewes et al 1995) and dynamic MRE (Bishop et al 1998;Muthupillai et al 1995). Some of those noninvasive techniques have also been applied to measure soft tissue mechanical parameters directly.…”

Assessment of the accuracy of an ultrasound elastography liver scanning system using a PVA-cryogel phantom with optimal acoustic and mechanical properties

“…While palpation remains the most commonly used technique in a clinical setting for assessing tissue stiffness, whereby regions of increased stiffness serve as an indicator of diseased tissue, the need for a more sensitive, more penetrating, non-invasive and quantitative means of measuring tissue stiffness has drawn significant attention to the rapidly developing area of elastography (Park and Maniatty, 2006;Sandrin et al, 2003;Yamakoshi et al, 1990). Techniques in magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) and ultrasound elastography are beginning to provide more pathologically sensitive and clinically useful information which enhance the interpretation of conventional radiological imaging scans (Asbach et al, 2008;Sandrin et al, 2003).…”

Comparison of Vibrational Displacements Generated by Different Types of Surface Source in a Soft Tissue

“…Parker et al [11] used a normal point source to verify FEM simulation results of displacement patterns, Catheline et al [12] measured the diffraction field of a point source using transient elastography. Yamakoshi et al [8] applied vibration to a tissue phantom using a perpendicularly vibrating rectangular plate, and…”

“…In order to generate shear wave, sonoelastography [2,8] or transient elastography [9,10] has used various forms of surface vibration sources. Parker et al [11] used a normal point source to verify FEM simulation results of displacement patterns, Catheline et al [12] measured the diffraction field of a point source using transient elastography.…”