title: Linear and nonlinear elasticity imaging of soft tissue in vivo: demonstration of feasibility.
abstract: We establish the feasibility of imaging the linear and nonlinear elastic properties of soft tissue using ultrasound. We report results for breast tissue where it is conjectured that these properties may be used to discern malignant tumors from benign tumors. We consider and compare three different quantities that describe nonlinear behavior, including the variation of strain distribution with overall strain, the variation of the secant modulus with overall applied strain and finally the distribution of the nonlinear parameter in a fully nonlinear hyperelastic model of the breast tissue.
authors.affiliation: Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA. oberaa@rpi.edu
authors.forename: Assad A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Oberai
authors.forename: Nachiket H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Gokhale
authors.forename: Sevan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goenezen
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Barbone
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Amy M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.forename: Jingfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D001940:Breast / Q000737:chemistry*; D004548:Elasticity; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D016217:Ultrasonography, Mammary / Q000379:methods*