The Feasibility Investigation of Real-Time Quantitative Strain Elastography Using Contact Force Measurements
Open AccessThe current state of clinical strain ultrasound elastography scanning is marked by the absence of a quantifiable, consistent, and reproducible method for measuring the contact pressure applied by the ultrasound transducer during the scanning process. This gap presents a significant challenge as it restricts the ability to control the factors that might influence imaging outcomes, such as operator variation. On the other hand, quantitative pressure measurements of transducer contact implemented in ultrasound strain elastography imaging is a promising solution to reduce the impact of operator variations on imaging outcomes and produce instantaneous quantitative estimations of the Young’s modulus of the underlying tissues. To address this gap and explore the enhanced diagnostic potential of ultrasound elastography, a combination of measurement techniques and models should be utilized. These techniques should provide consistent parametric estimates with sensitivity to diagnostic features of tissue. To address this limitation, a noninvasive method that can be used to quantify breast stiffness using ultrasound radio-frequency data has been developed. The system includes a pressure data acquisition configuration to measure the magnitude of the compression exerted on the surface of a tissue in real-time. The setup employs two pressure sensors arrays affixed to the custom-made ultrasound probe holder to record the pressure while tissue is under compression for ultrasound imaging. The setup was used to acquire data on an inhomogeneous tissue mimicking phantom that includes various layers of different stiffnesses and a lesion to better mimic the complexities of the breast. To validate the accuracy of the measured phantom results, a FEM model of the inhomogeneous phantom was used to simulate the outcomes of the compression under similar conditions. Subsequently, the phantoms underwent compressions with clinical ultrasound and the acquired data was used to iteratively solve the inverse elasticity problem. The estimated displacement from two sets of pre and post compression radio-frequency data along with the acquired pressure values enabled to directly quantify the stiffness of the tissue mimicking phantoms from the reconstructed elasticity map. The result of this study showed that during breast deformation, the pressure sensor arrays are able to detect initial contact of the transducer and measure the magnitude of compression through the scanning and quantify the Young’s modulus of the tissues.
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