A System for Real-Time Estimation of In Vivo Soft Tissue Properties

所要求的开放式平台超声剪切波弹性成像系统将为多学科研究团队提供实时识别和估计肌肉骨骼系统中各种软组织弹性特性的能力。与临床系统不同，拟议的仅用于研究的系统将为团队提供对原始数据流的不受限制的访问，并为他们提供超声系统数据采集的完全控制。横波弹性成像是一种利用超声波对组织进行机械刺激，然后测量产生的横波速度的新技术。剪切波的速度与组织的材料特性成正比。这种方法在生物力学领域是革命性的，因为它提供了关于个体软组织特性的信息。以前，研究人员必须通过使用从一小块尸体组织样本中获得的平均值来构建肌肉骨骼模型。获得特定组织特性和跟踪随时间变化的能力将为肌肉骨骼系统的功能提供巨大的洞察力。所要求的系统将被安置在高速骨骼成像实验室中。该实验室设有一个双平面放射成像系统，用于测量日常生活中高要求活动时骨骼的运动。所要求的系统将与双平面放射成像系统、运动捕捉系统、肌电图系统（用于肌肉激活测量）和测力板同步。首次，这些耦合数据流将使研究人员能够确定软组织特性的变化如何影响肌肉骨骼系统的功能，并最终为骨关节炎等肌肉骨骼疾病的发病和进展提供新的见解。

The requested Open-Platform Ultrasound Shear Wave Elastography system will provide a multi-disciplinary team of researchers the capability to identify and estimate the elastic properties of various soft tissues in the musculoskeletal system in real time. Unlike clinical systems, the proposed research-only system will provide the team with unfettered access to raw data streams and provide them with full control of data acquisition with the ultrasound system. Shear wave elastography is a new technique that mechanically stimulates the tissue using ultrasound and then measures the speed of the resulting shear wave. The speed of the shear wave is proportional to the material properties of the tissue. This method is revolutionary in the field of biomechanics because it provides information about the soft tissue properties of an individual. Previously, researchers had to construct musculoskeletal models by using average values that were obtained from a small sample of cadaveric tissue. The ability to acquire subject-specific tissue properties and track changes over time will provide tremendous insight into the function of the musculoskeletal system. The requested system will be housed in a High-Speed Skeletal Imaging Laboratory. This laboratory houses a biplanar videoradiography system which measures motion of the skeleton during high-demand activities of daily living. The requested system will be synchronized with the biplanar videoradiography system as well as a motion capture system, electromyography system (for muscle activation measures), and a force plate. For the first time, these coupled data streams will allow researchers to determine how changes in soft tissue properties affect the function of the musculoskeletal system and ultimately provide new insights into the onset and progression of musculoskeletal diseases such as osteoarthritis.