Shear wave dispersion ultrasound vibrometry

This chapter introduces an ultrasound imaging method called shearwave dispersion ultrasound vibrometry (SDUV) that can quantify both tissue elasticity and viscosity noninvasively. It also discusses a few practical challenges of this method. SDUV generates multi‐frequency wide‐band harmonic shearwaves using both acoustic radiation force (ARF) and external mechanical vibration to obtain the shear wave speed dispersion curve, from which tissue viscoelasticity can be robustly estimated. Different configurations of SDUV are developed using ARF and external mechanical vibration. Then, the chapter extends the concept of SDUV to using a transient shear wave signal and dispersion analysis to quantify tissue viscoelasticity. Consequently, this method is performed in both ex vivo and in vivo tissues, including liver, heart, artery, kidney, prostate, and muscle. In addition, the chapter reviews several applications of SDUV and other similar techniques that provide viscoelasticity measurements.