Ultrasound Shear Wave Simulation of Breast Tumor Using Nonlinear Tissue Elasticity.
Shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI) can assess the elasticity of tissues, but the shear modulus estimated in SWEI is often less sensitive to a subtle change of the stiffness that produces only small mechanical contrast to the background tissues. Because most soft tissues exhibit mechanical nonlinearity that differs in tissue types, mechanical contrast can be enhanced if the tissues are compressed. In this study, a finite element- (FE-) based simulation was performed for a breast tissue model, which consists of a circular (D: 10 mm, hard) tumor and surrounding tissue (soft). The SWEI was performed with 0% to 30% compression of the breast tissue model. The shear modulus of the tumor exhibited noticeably high nonlinearity compared to soft background tissue above 10% overall applied compression. As a result, the elastic modulus contrast of the tumor to the surrounding tissue was increased from 0.46 at 0% compression to 1.45 at 30% compression.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA.
Dae Woo
DW
Park
D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D019295:Computational Biology; D003198:Computer Simulation; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging