Faculty Collaboration Database

Dynamic and quasi-static mechanical testing for characterization of the viscoelastic properties of human uterine tissue. J Biomech 2015 Jul 16;48(10):1730-6

Date

06/15/2015

Pubmed ID

26072212

Pubmed Central ID

PMC4582656

DOI

10.1016/j.jbiomech.2015.05.013

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-84937525903 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   23 Citations

Abstract

Ultrasound elastography is envisioned as an optional modality to augment standard ultrasound B-mode imaging and is a promising technique to aid in detecting uterine masses which cause abnormal uterine bleeding in both pre- and post-menopausal women. In order to determine the effectiveness of strain imaging, mechanical testing to establish the elastic contrast between normal uterine tissue and stiffer masses such as leiomyomas (fibroids) and between softer pathologies such as uterine cancer and adenomyosis has to be performed. In this paper, we evaluate the stiffness of normal uterine tissue, leiomyomas, and endometrial cancers using a EnduraTEC ElectroForce (ELF) system. We quantify the viscoelastic characteristics of uterine tissue and associated pathologies globally by using two mechanical testing approaches, namely a dynamic and a quasi-static (ramp testing) approach. For dynamic testing, 21 samples obtained from 18 patients were tested. The testing frequencies were set to 1, 10, 20, and 30 Hz. We also report on stiffness variations with pre-compression from 1% to 6% for testing at 2%, 3%, and 4% strain amplitude. Our results show that human uterine tissue stiffness is both dependent on percent pre-compression and testing frequencies. For ramp testing, 20 samples obtained from 14 patients were used. A constant strain rate of 0.1% was applied and comparable results to dynamic testing were obtained. The mean modulus contrast at 2% amplitude between normal uterine tissue (the background) and leiomyomas was 2.29 and 2.17, and between the background and cancer was 0.47 and 0.39 for dynamic and ramp testing, respectively.

Author List

Omari EA, Varghese T, Kliewer MA, Harter J, Hartenbach EM

Author

Eenas Omari PhD Assistant Professor in the Radiation Oncology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adult
Elasticity
Endometrial Neoplasms
Female
Humans
Leiomyoma
Pressure
Stress, Mechanical
Uterus
Viscosity