Elasticity imaging of biological soft tissue using a combined finite element and non-linear optimization method

Abstract

A novel material reconstruction method combining finite element (FE)-based direct inverse method and non-linear optimization algorithm is proposed for elasticity imaging of biological soft tissue. The biological soft tissue is represented using Neo-Hookean hyperelastic model. The FE-based direct inverse method provides an estimation of material parameter distribution which serves as the initial guess of the Levenberg–Marquardt optimization algorithm. Direct calculation of Jacobian matrix is proposed to improve the computational efficiency of the combined algorithm. Computer simulation demonstrated that the material parameters of soft tissue can be determined rapidly and accurately within a small tolerance using the proposed method. Our experimental results on a human lower leg demonstrated the clinical viability of this method.