Biomed Eng Lett.  2017 May;7(2):71-79. 10.1007/s13534-017-0014-7.

Advances in ultrasound elasticity imaging

• Kwon SJ
• Jeong MK

• KMID: 2385970
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1007/s13534-017-0014-7

Abstract

The most troublesome of ultrasonic B-mode imaging is the difficulty of accurately diagnosing cancers, benign tumors, and cysts because they appear similar to each other in B-mode images. The human soft tissue has different physical characteristics of ultrasound depending on whether it is normal or not. In particular, cancers in soft tissue tend to be harder than the surrounding tissue. Thus, ultrasound elasticity imaging can be advantageously used to detect cancers. To measure elasticity, a mechanical force is applied to a region of interest, and the degree of deformation measured is rendered as an image. Depending on the method of applying stress and measuring strain, different elasticity imaging modalities have been reported, including strain imaging, sonoelastography, vibro-acoustography, transient elastography, acoustic radiation force impulse imaging, supersonic imaging, and strain-rate imaging. In this paper, we introduce various elasticity imaging methods and explore their technical principles and characteristics.

Keyword

Ultrasound; Elasticity; Strain imaging; Sonoelastography; Vibro-acoustography; Transient elastography; ARFI imaging; Supersonic imaging

MeSH Terms

Elasticity Imaging Techniques
Elasticity*
Humans
Methods
Ultrasonics
Ultrasonography*