The Measurement and Imaging of Soft Tissue Viscoelastic Properties

In this study, extensive efforts have been made toquantify soft tissue viscoelasticity and imagelesions in vivo. Two independent quantitativemethods, CRE and MM, were developed and validatedfor soft tissue characterization. The frequency-dependent complex Young's modulus of normal andcancerous prostate tissues was systematicallyinvestigated by the established mechanicalmeasurement technique. Quantification of mechanicalproperties of human prostate tissue is highlynecessary for the improvement of elasticity imagingfor prostate cancer detection. As an important steptowards clinical implementation in humans, an animalmodel was established to investigate the feasibilityof sonoelastography for in vivo lesion detection.The results indicated that the area and volume ofthermal lesions measured by sonoelastographycorrelated closely to the pathology findings,demonstrating that sonoelastography could reliablyand more accurately image hepatic thermal lesions invivo in comparison to conventional US.

Autorentext

Man Zhang, born in Nanjing, China, received her B.Eng. and M.Eng. degrees from the Southeast University, China. She also received a B.Medicine degree from the Nanjing Medical University. Ms. Zhang began her Ph.D. study in the area of biomedical ultrasound at the University of Rochester, USA, in 2001. She received a Ph.D. degree in July, 2007.

Klappentext
In this study, extensive efforts have been made to quantify soft tissue viscoelasticity and image lesions in vivo. Two independent quantitative methods, CRE and MM, were developed and validated for soft tissue characterization. The frequency- dependent complex Young's modulus of normal and cancerous prostate tissues was systematically investigated by the established mechanical measurement technique. Quantification of mechanical properties of human prostate tissue is highly necessary for the improvement of elasticity imaging for prostate cancer detection. As an important step towards clinical implementation in humans, an animal model was established to investigate the feasibility of sonoelastography for in vivo lesion detection. The results indicated that the area and volume of thermal lesions measured by sonoelastography correlated closely to the pathology findings, demonstrating that sonoelastography could reliably and more accurately image hepatic thermal lesions in vivo in comparison to conventional US.