Shear elasticity probe for soft tissues with 1-D transient elastography

TLDR

Elasticity of tissues can be inferred from low‑frequency shear wave propagation. The paper introduces a new method to measure shear velocity in soft tissues. The method uses a single probe that integrates vibrator and transducer on the vibrator axis, with the transducer acting as a piston to generate low‑frequency shear waves while simultaneously acquiring pulse‑echo ultrasonic lines. The integrated probe is easy to use and yields results that agree well with conventional transient elastography.

Abstract

Important tissue parameters such as elasticity can be deduced from the study of the propagation of low frequency shear waves. A new method for measuring the shear velocity in soft tissues is presented in this paper. Unlike conventional transient elastography in which the ultrasonic transducer and the low frequency vibrator are two separated parts, the new method relies on a probe that associates the vibrator and the transducer, which is built on the axis of the vibrator. This setup is easy to use. The low frequency shear wave is driven by the transducer itself that acts as a piston while it is used in pulse echo mode to acquire ultrasonic lines. The results obtained with the new method are in good agreement with those obtained with the conventional one.