Assessment of the Viscoelastic Properties of Normal and Abnormal Breast Tissue
Abstract
It is well known that variations in biomechanical properties of breast tissue are associated with the presence of disease. As a result, it is thought that stiffness represent an attractive property by which to detect disease and aid in differentiation between normal and benign breast tissues. Over the past few years, a number of investigators have attempted to measure breast tissue biomechanical properties based on ex-vivo tissue samples. These studies suggest the presence of large variations in breast tissue elastic modulus among various breast tissues. These data, however, are subject to sampling errors arising from tissue heterogeneity within the tissue samples and potential differences arising from ex-vivo conditions and tissue sample handling. As a result, repeatable measurements have been hard to achieve and the obtained data are thus less reliable. Our goal in this project is to study these properties with an MRI method, both in-vitro and in-vivo, and assess the biomechanical properties of fat, fibroglandular and cancerous breast tissues. During our first year of funding, we have initiated the development of two uniaxial loading systems, an MRI-based and table-top system. Also, we developed various inverse solution algorithms for reconstruction of elastic modulus using MRI derived displacement data. During our second year, we have integrated, optimized and tested the table-top system. Using animal tissues, this system has proven to be accurate and reliable, and we are in the process of starting measurements on breast tissues. In addition, we have developed and optimized a novel constrained elastography technique which will be used in-vivo breast tissue modulus measurement.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA398560
Entities
People
- Donald B. Plewes