We discuss the issue of separating contributions from mechanical and optical properties of a moderately scattering tissue phantom to the modulation depth (M) of intensity autocorrelation measured in an ultrasound-assisted optical tomography system using axial and transverse illuminations. For axial illumination, M is affected by both the displacement and absorption coefficient, more prominently by displacement. But transverse illumination has very little contribution from displacement of scattering centers. Since displacement is related to the elastic property of the insonified region, we show that there is a possibility of separating the contributions from elastic and optical properties of the insonified region using axial and transverse illuminations. The main conclusions of our study using moderately scattering phantoms are: 1. axial illumination is the best for mapping storage modulus inhomogeneities, but M is also affected by optical absorption; 2. transverse illumination is the best for mapping absorption inhomogeneities; and 3. for the practically relevant case of an inclusion with larger storage modulus and absorption, both illuminations produced large contrast in M. When the scattering coefficient is high, the angle dependence of illumination is lost and the present method is shown to fail to separate these contributions based on direction of illumination.
Diffusing wave spectroscopy (DWS), without the use of tracer particles, has been used to study the internal dynamics of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) phantoms, which mimic the properties of normal and malignant breast tissues. From the measured intensity autocorrelations, the mean square displacement (MSD) of phantom meshing is estimated, leading to the storage and loss moduli of the medium covering frequencies up to 10 KHz. These are verified with independent measurements from a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) at low frequencies. We thus prove the usefulness of DWS to extract visco-elastic properties of the phantom and its possible application in detecting malignancy in soft tissues.
We use a focused ultrasound beam to load a region of interest (ROI) in a tissue-mimicking phantom and read out the
vibration amplitude of phantom particles from the modulation depth in the intensity autocorrelation of a coherent light
beam that intercepted the ROI. The modulation depth, which is also affected by the local light absorption coefficient,
which is employed in ultrasound assisted optical tomography, to read out absorption coefficient is greatly influenced by
the vibration amplitude, depends to a great extend on local elasticity. We scan a plane in an elastography phantom with
an inhomogeneous inclusion, in elasticity with the focused ultrasound and from the measured modulation depth
variation create a qualitative map of the elasticity variation in the interrogated plane.
In ultrasound assisted optical elastography (UAOE) the amplitude of vibration inside the object introduced by an
ultrasound (US) beam is read out by a coherent light beam. The measurement is the depth of modulation in the
intensity autocorrelation of light that intercepted the insonified region and detected at the boundary. It is observed
that the measured depth of modulation is owing to refractive index modulation and scattering coefficient
modulation, in addition to the tissue-particle vibration. Since elasticity is measured from the amplitude of vibration
it is essential to characterize and separate the contribution to the modulation from refractive index and scattering
coefficient modulations. In this work we report the contribution of the scattering coefficient modulation in the
insonified region to the measured modulation in the autocorrelation. We found through simulation studies that the
contribution from scattering coefficient is small compared to the vibration. In addition, this contribution becomes
smaller as the stiffness in the region increases. We also provide a means of quantifying this contribution so that the
effect of vibration amplitude can be separated from the overall measured modulation depth.
A coherent light beam is used to interrogate the focal region within a tissue-mimicking phantom insonified by an ultrasound transducer. The ultrasound-tagged photons exiting from the object carry with them information on local optical path length fluctuations caused by refractive index variations and medium vibration. Through estimation of the force distribution in the focal region of the ultrasound transducer, and solving the forward elastography problem for amplitude of vibration of tissue particles, we observe that the amplitude is directed along the axis of the transducer. It is shown that the focal region interrogated by photons launched along the transducer axis carries phase fluctuations owing to both refractive index variations and particle vibration, whereas the photons launched perpendicular to the transducer axis carry phase fluctuations arising mainly from the refractive index variations, with only smaller contribution from vibration of particles. Monte-Carlo simulations and experiments done on tissue-mimicking phantoms prove that as the storage modulus of the phantom is increased, the detected modulation depth in autocorrelation is reduced, significantly for axial photons and only marginally for the transverse-directed photons. It is observed that the depth of modulation is reduced to a significantly lower and constant value as the storage modulus of the medium is increased. This constant value is found to be the same for both axial and transverse optical interrogation. This proves that the residual modulation depth is owing to refractive index fluctuations alone, which can be subtracted from the overall measured modulation depth, paving the way for a possible quantitative reconstruction of storage modulus. Moreover, since the transverse-directed photons are not significantly affected by storage modulus variations, for a quantitatively accurate read-out of absorption coefficient variation, the interrogating light should be perpendicular to the focusing ultrasound transducer axis.
We propose an effective elastography technique in which an acoustic radiation force is used for remote palpation to
generate localized tissue displacements, which are directly correlated to localized variations of tissue stiffness and are
measured using a light probe in the same direction of ultrasound propagation. The experimental geometry has provision
to input light beam along the ultrasound propagation direction, and hence it can be prealigned to ensure proper
interception of the focal region by the light beam. Tissue-mimicking phantoms with homogeneous and isotropic
mechanical properties of normal and malignant breast tissue are considered for the study. Each phantom is insonified by
a focusing ultrasound transducer (1 MHz). The focal volume of the transducer and the ultrasound radiation force in the
region are estimated through solving acoustic wave propagation through medium assuming average acoustic properties.
The forward elastography problem is solved for the region of insonification assuming the Lame's parameters and
Poisson's ratio, under Dirichlet boundary conditions which gives a distribution of displacement vectors. The direction
of displacement, though presented spatial variation, is predominantly towards the ultrasound propagation direction.
Using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation we have traced the photons through the phantom and collected the photons
arriving at the detector on the boundary of the object in the direction of ultrasound. The intensity correlations are then
computed from detected photons. The intensity correlation function computed through MC simulation showed a
modulation whose strength is found to be proportional to the amplitude of displacement and inversely related to the
storage (elastic) modulus. It is observed that when the storage modulus in the focal region is increased the computed
displacement magnitude, as indicated by the depth of modulation in the intensity autocorrelation, decreased and the
trend is approximately exponential.
We investigate the modulation of an optical field caused by its interaction with an ultrasound beam in a tissue mimicking phantom. This modulation appears as a modulation in the intensity autocorrelation, which is measured by a photon counting correlator. The factors contributing to the modulation are: 1. amplitude of vibration of the particles of the tissue, 2. refractive index modulation, and 3. absorption coefficient in the region of the tissue intercepted by the ultrasound beam and light. We show in this work that a significant part of the contribution to this modulation comes from displacement of the tissue particles, which in turn is governed by the elastic properties of the tissue. We establish, both through simulations and experiments using an optical elastography phantom, the effects of the elasticity and absorption coefficient variations on the modulation of intensity autocorrelation. In the case where there is no absorption coefficient variation, we suggest that the depth of modulation can be calibrated to measure the displacement of tissue particles that, in turn, can be used to measure the tissue elasticity.
We suitably adapt the design of a tissue-equivalent phantom used for photoacoustic imaging to construct phantoms for optical elastography. The elastography phantom we consider should have optical properties such as scattering coefficient, scattering anisotropy factor, and refractive index; mechanical properties such as storage and loss modulus; and acoustic properties such as ultrasound velocity, attenuation coefficient, and acoustic impedance to match healthy and diseased tissues. The phantom is made of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and its mechanical, optical, and acoustic properties are tailored by physical cross-linking effected through subjecting a suitable mix of PVA stock and water to a number of freeze-thaw cycles and by varying the degree of hydrolysis in the PVA stock. The optical, mechanical, and acoustic properties of the samples prepared are measured by employing different techniques. The measured variations in the values of optical scattering coefficient, scattering anisotropy factor, and refractive index and storage modulus are found to be comparable to those in normal and diseased breast tissues. The acoustic properties such as sound speed, acoustic attenuation coefficient, and density are found to be close to the average values reported in the literature for normal breast tissue.
We report the results of experiments conducted to determine optical and mechanical properties of tissue mimicking phantoms that are designed for optical elastography. In optical elastography the readout mechanism for displacement is optical, and the mechanical and optical properties of the phantom are to be tailored to match those of the tissue being imaged. The optical characterization is based on diffusive nature of light propagation including scattering anisotropy and boundary reflection. The anisotropy factor (g) is measured using a relatively thin sample (where single scattering assumption is valid) through experimentally measuring the angular intensity transmittance. The measured intensity distributions are fitted to, known theoretically available intensity distributions, which have scattering anisotropy (g) as one of the parameters, to extract g. The scattering coefficient (μS) and refractive index (n) are obtained using a thicker slab (multiple scattering regime) from where angle-resolved intensity transmittance is measured. Computed intensity distributions using Monte-Carlo(MC) simulations are curve fitted to extract 'μs' and 'n' which are used in the Monte-Carlo simulation. The visco-elastic properties such as frequency dependent elastic and loss moduli of the phantom are determined by measuring the complex modulus using a dynamic mechanical analyzing system.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.