title: The tissue diagnostic instrument.
abstract: Tissue mechanical properties reflect extracellular matrix composition and organization, and as such, their changes can be a signature of disease. Examples of such diseases include intervertebral disk degeneration, cancer, atherosclerosis, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and tooth decay. Here we introduce the tissue diagnostic instrument (TDI), a device designed to probe the mechanical properties of normal and diseased soft and hard tissues not only in the laboratory but also in patients. The TDI can distinguish between the nucleus and the annulus of spinal disks, between young and degenerated cartilage, and between normal and cancerous mammary glands. It can quantify the elastic modulus and hardness of the wet dentin left in a cavity after excavation. It can perform an indentation test of bone tissue, quantifying the indentation depth increase and other mechanical parameters. With local anesthesia and disposable, sterile, probe assemblies, there has been neither pain nor complications in tests on patients. We anticipate that this unique device will facilitate research on many tissue systems in living organisms, including plants, leading to new insights into disease mechanisms and methods for their early detection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hansma
authors.forename: Hongmei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schultz
authors.forename: Azucena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Eugene A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Yurtsev
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zok
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Proctor
authors.forename: Davis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brimer
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Nogues-Solan
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mellbovsky
authors.forename: M Jesus
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Peña
authors.forename: Oriol
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Diez-Ferrer
authors.forename: Phillip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mathews
authors.forename: Connor
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Randall
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Mathilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kohn
authors.forename: Jenni
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Buckley
authors.forename: Xiaojuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pruitt
authors.forename: Adolfo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diez-Perez
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alliston
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lotz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002356:Cartilage / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology; D003804:Dentin / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology; D019719:Diagnostic Equipment; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology; D042361:Mammary Glands, Human / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice