Vascular elastography: a validation study

Richard G P Lopata; Mathijs F J Peters; Jan Nijs; Cees W J Oomens; Marcel C M Rutten; Frans N van de Vosse

doi:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2014.02.029

Vascular elastography: a validation study

Ultrasound Med Biol. 2014 Aug;40(8):1882-95. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2014.02.029. Epub 2014 May 3.

Authors

Richard G P Lopata¹, Mathijs F J Peters², Jan Nijs³, Cees W J Oomens⁴, Marcel C M Rutten², Frans N van de Vosse²

Affiliations

¹ Cardiovascular Biomechanics, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Electronic address: R.lopata@tue.nl.
² Cardiovascular Biomechanics, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
³ Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Hospital Brussels, Brussels, Belgium.
⁴ Soft Tissue Biomechanics & Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

PMID: 24798385
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2014.02.029

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.

Keywords: Aorta; Bi-axial tensile test; Elastography; Mechanical characterization; Ultrasound.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Validation Study

MeSH terms

Animals
Aorta / diagnostic imaging*
Elasticity Imaging Techniques / methods*
Elasticity Imaging Techniques / standards*
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / methods
Reproducibility of Results
Swine