Introduction to ultrasound elastography
Open Access
- 29 June 2016
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Medical Communications Sp. z.o.o. in Journal of Ultrasonography
- Vol. 16 (65), 113-124
- https://doi.org/10.15557/jou.2016.0013
Abstract
For centuries tissue palpation has been an important diagnostic tool. During palpation, tumors are felt as tissues harder than the surrounding tissues. The significance of palpation is related to the relationship between mechanical properties of different tissue lesions. The assessment of tissue stiffness through palpation is based on the fact that mechanical properties of tissues are changing as a result of various diseases. A higher tissue stiffness translates into a higher elasticity modulus. In the 90's, ultrasonography was extended by the option of examining the stiffness of tissue by estimating the difference in backscattering of ultrasound in compressed and non-compressed tissue. This modality is referred to as the static, compression elastography and is based on tracking the deformation of tissue subjected to the slowly varying compression through the recording of the backscattered echoes. The displacement is estimated using the methods of cross-correlation between consecutive ultrasonic lines of examined tissue, so calculating the degree of similarity of ultrasonic echoes acquired from tissue before and after the compression was applied. The next step in the development of ultrasound palpation was to apply the local remote tissue compression by using the acoustic radiation force generated through the special beam forming of the ultrasonic beam probing the tissue. The acoustic radiation force causes a slight deformation the tissue thereby forming a shear wave propagating in the tissue at different speeds dependent on the stiffness of the tissue. Shear wave elastography, carries great hopes in the field of quantitative imaging of tissue lesions. This article describes the physical basis of both elastographic methods: compression elastography and shear wave elastography.Keywords
This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
- Distinguishing Benign from Malignant Masses at Breast US: Combined US Elastography and Color Doppler US—Influence on Radiologist AccuracyRadiology, 2012
- Medical ultrasound: imaging of soft tissue strain and elasticityJournal of The Royal Society Interface, 2011
- Supersonic shear imaging: a new technique for soft tissue elasticity mappingIEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, 2004
- Transient elastography: a new noninvasive method for assessment of hepatic fibrosisJapanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2003
- Shear-wave generation using acoustic radiation force: in vivo and ex vivo resultsJapanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2003
- Observations of Tissue Response to Acoustic Radiation Force: Opportunities for ImagingUltrasonic Imaging, 2002
- Shear modulus imaging with 2-D transient elastographyIEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, 2002
- Shear wave elasticity imaging: a new ultrasonic technology of medical diagnosticsJapanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, 1998
- Elastic Moduli of Breast and Prostate Tissues under CompressionUltrasonic Imaging, 1998
- Elastography: A Quantitative Method for Imaging the Elasticity of Biological TissuesUltrasonic Imaging, 1991