ABSTRACT An elasticity microscope images tissue stiffness at fine resolution. Possible applications include dermatology, ophthalmology, pathology, and tissue engineering. In addition, if the resolution approaches cellular dimensions, then this system may be very useful in understanding tissue micromorphology. Elasticity images can be reconstructed from displacement and strain fields measured throughout the specimen during controlled external loading. High frequency ultrasound is used to obtain these images by tracking coherent speckle motion during deformation. In this paper, methods are presented to track speckle in two dimensions with near unity correlation coefficients using a high frequency, single element focused transducer. These techniques include improved means for speckle tracking. Procedures to control boundary conditions for consistent specimen deformation and scanning techniques required to obtain a plane-strain state in the imaging plane are also discussed. To test these methods, a 50 MHz elasticity microscope was constructed.
1997 IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control 44:1304-1319
© 1997 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. All rights reserved.