title: Vascular elastography: a validation study.
abstract: Vascular elastography techniques are promising tools for mechanical characterization of diseased arteries. These techniques are usually validated with simulations or phantoms or by comparing results with histology or other imaging modalities. In the study described here, vascular elastography was applied to porcine aortas in vitro during inflation testing (n = 10) and results were compared with those of standard bi-axial tensile testing, a technique that directly measures the force applied to the tissue. A neo-Hookean model was fit to the stress-strain data, valid for large deformations. Results indicated good correspondence between the two techniques, with GUS = 110 ± 11 kPa and GTT = 108 ± 10 kPa for ultrasound and tensile testing, respectively. Bland-Altman analysis revealed little bias (GUS-GTT = 2 ± 20 kPa). The next step will be the application of a non-linear material model that is also adaptable for in vivo measurements.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Biomechanics, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Electronic address: R.lopata@tue.nl.
authors.forename: Richard G P
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Lopata
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Biomechanics, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mathijs F J
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Hospital Brussels, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nijs
authors.affiliation: Soft Tissue Biomechanics & Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Cees W J
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Oomens
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Biomechanics, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marcel C M
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Rutten
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Biomechanics, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frans N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: van de Vosse
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013552:Swine
keywords: Aorta; Bi-axial tensile test; Elastography; Mechanical characterization; Ultrasound