Quantitative shear-wave elastography and dynamic ultasound imaging for human biomechanics research

用于人体生物力学研究的定量剪切波弹性成像和动态超声成像

• 批准号: RTI-2017-00098
• 负责人: McLean, Linda
• 金额: $ 10.93万
• 依托单位: University of Ottawa
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Research Tools and Instruments
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=616553
• 关键词: Quantitative; shear; wave; elastography; dynamic

Measures of tissue morphology and mechanical properties are essential to understanding human biomechanics and motor control. When studying human systems in vivo, ultrasound imaging offers a distinct advantage over other imaging approaches (such as MRI) in that task dynamics can be studied with adequate temporal resolution to accurately compute system kinematics. Further, recent advances in ultrasound technology have resulted in the capacity to quantify tissue stiffness using shear-wave elastography, and this function has recently been incorporated into commercially available ultrasound systems. The equipment specified in this application can be applied broadly to biomechanics and physiology research and is essential to the research programs of the applicants. The particular equipment has been selected because it allows for high resolution 3D imaging at frame rates that are appropriate for kinematic analyses - making it the best tool on the market to capture dynamic motion of localized body structures. This capacity is particularly relevant to the principal applicant's research program in which she is developing and automated pixel segmentation approach to identify urogenital landmarks to be incorporated into her methodology for analysis of urogenital kinematics. Further, unlike most commercially available ultrasound systems, the equipment specified is user-friendly from a research perspective, allowing for the incorporation of a trigger pulse for data synchronization and fast and easy methods of file export directly into Matlab software applications. In Canada there are only three commercially available ultrasound systems with the capacity to perform quantitative shear-wave elastography - which has rapidly been adopted by international leaders in the field of biomechanics. Estimates of tissue stiffness using this approach are reproducible, independent of the tissue strain induced by the user, and can be seen in real-time. These features are essential for the non-invasive study of tissue properties in humans and changes in these properties associated with different motor patterns, task demands and/or age. Such capacity is essential to the individual research programs of the principal applicant for the study of pelvic floor muscle and connective tissue stiffness, and the co-applicant for the study of spinal stability and control,. It is also an integral part of their collaborative research activities and will also be used by many other investigators at the University of Ottawa. Altogether the requested ultrasound system is essential to the individual research programs of the applicants and their planned collaborative activities. The equipment will play a vital role in training highly qualified personnel, providing them with transferable skills on the cutting-edge of research on musculoskeletal imaging, biomechanics, blood flow, vascular resistance, and more.

测量组织形态和力学特性对于理解人体生物力学和运动控制至关重要。当研究人体系统在体内，超声成像提供了一个明显的优势，其他成像方法（如MRI）的任务动态可以研究与足够的时间分辨率，以准确地计算系统的运动学。此外，超声技术的最新进展已经产生了使用剪切波弹性成像来量化组织硬度的能力，并且该功能最近已经被并入市售超声系统中。本申请中指定的设备可广泛应用于生物力学和生理学研究，并且对申请人的研究计划至关重要。 之所以选择这种特殊的设备，是因为它允许以适合运动学分析的帧率进行高分辨率3D成像-使其成为市场上捕获局部身体结构动态运动的最佳工具。这种能力与主要申请人的研究计划特别相关，在该计划中，她正在开发自动像素分割方法以识别将被纳入她的方法中的泌尿生殖器标志，用于分析泌尿生殖器运动学。此外，与大多数市售超声系统不同，从研究角度来看，指定的设备是用户友好的，允许将触发脉冲用于数据同步和快速简单的文件导出方法直接导入Matlab软件应用程序。 在加拿大，只有三种商用超声波系统能够进行定量剪切波弹性成像，这一技术已迅速被生物力学领域的国际领导者采用。使用这种方法对组织硬度的估计是可再现的，与用户引起的组织应变无关，并且可以实时看到。这些特征对于人体组织特性的非侵入性研究以及与不同运动模式、任务需求和/或年龄相关的这些特性的变化是必不可少的。这种能力对于研究盆底肌肉和结缔组织硬度的主申请人和研究脊柱稳定性和控制的共同申请人的个人研究计划至关重要。它也是他们合作研究活动的一个组成部分，也将被渥太华大学的许多其他研究人员使用。 总之，所要求的超声系统对于申请人的个人研究计划及其计划的合作活动至关重要。该设备将在培养高素质人才方面发挥至关重要的作用，为他们提供有关肌肉骨骼成像，生物力学，血液流动，血管阻力等研究前沿的可转移技能。