Ultrasound Elastography in Biomedicine: Principles, Techniques and Applications

A special issue of Bioengineering (ISSN 2306-5354). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosignal Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 2420

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Western University, London, ON, Canada
2. Department of Medical Biophysics, Western University, London, ON, Canada
Interests: biological tissue computer modeling; medical imaging; elastography; computer and medical imaging-assisted diagnosis; intervention and therapy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ultrasound elastography is a rapidly evolving field in medical imaging due to its great potential in diagnosis and image-guided intervention in oncology, cardiology, hepatology, and other fields of medicine. Despite its potential as a low-cost and real-time imaging modality, the clinical utility of ultrasound elastography has been relatively limited. This limited utility stems primarily from the noisy radiofrequency data acquired during ultrasound imaging. While inherent to ultrasound imaging, the noise issue has been mitigated through effective data processing algorithms and hardware systems developed by researchers in the ultrasound elastography field. Furthermore, effective algorithms have been developed for image reconstruction of tissue viscoelasticity parameters. To advance this exciting field towards further establishment of ultrasound elastography as an effective imaging modality in various fields of medicine, research efforts and innovation in algorithm, hardware and software component development need to be ramped up. As a step toward this goal, this Special Issue of Bioengineering aims to showcase recent developments in the work of researchers in the field of ultrasound elastography. This Special Issue focuses on software and hardware developments pertaining to ultrasound data processing, motion tracking, image reconstruction algorithms, both conventional and machine learning-based, and clinical applications.

Prof. Dr. Abbas Samani
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • ultrasound elastography
  • motion tracking
  • inverse problems
  • quasi-static elastography
  • strain imaging
  • stiffness imaging
  • dynamic elastography
  • shear wave elastography
  • transient elastography
  • instrumentation
  • clinical applications

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

28 pages, 1895 KiB  
Review
Mathematical Models for Ultrasound Elastography: Recent Advances to Improve Accuracy and Clinical Utility
by Ali Farajpour and Wendy V. Ingman
Bioengineering 2024, 11(10), 991; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering11100991 - 30 Sep 2024
Viewed by 2029
Abstract
Changes in biomechanical properties such as elasticity modulus, viscosity, and poroelastic features are linked to the health status of biological tissues. Ultrasound elastography is a non-invasive imaging tool that quantitatively maps these biomechanical characteristics for diagnostic and treatment monitoring purposes. Mathematical models are [...] Read more.
Changes in biomechanical properties such as elasticity modulus, viscosity, and poroelastic features are linked to the health status of biological tissues. Ultrasound elastography is a non-invasive imaging tool that quantitatively maps these biomechanical characteristics for diagnostic and treatment monitoring purposes. Mathematical models are essential in ultrasound elastography as they convert the raw data obtained from tissue displacement caused by ultrasound waves into the images observed by clinicians. This article reviews the available mathematical frameworks of continuum mechanics for extracting the biomechanical characteristics of biological tissues in ultrasound elastography. Continuum-mechanics-based approaches such as classical viscoelasticity, elasticity, and poroelasticity models, as well as nonlocal continuum-based models, are described. The accuracy of ultrasound elastography can be increased with the recent advancements in continuum modelling techniques including hyperelasticity, biphasic theory, nonlocal viscoelasticity, inversion-based elasticity, and incorporating scale effects. However, the time taken to convert the data into clinical images increases with more complex models, and this is a major challenge for expanding the clinical utility of ultrasound elastography. As we strive to provide the most accurate imaging for patients, further research is needed to refine mathematical models for incorporation into the clinical workflow. Full article
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