An integrated system for real-time detection of stiff masses with a single compression

• Published in: IEEE transactions on biomedical engineering Vol. 53; no. 7; pp. 1286 - 1293
• Main Authors: Fahmy, A.S., Krieger, A., Osman, N.F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States IEEE 01.07.2006; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Biomedical engineering; Biomedical measurements; Breast neoplasms; Compressing; Compressive Strength - physiology; Computer Simulation; Computer Systems; Connective Tissue - anatomy & histology; Connective Tissue - physiology; Deformation; Devices; Elasticity; Encoding; Equipment Design; Equipment Failure Analysis; Image coding; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - methods; Imaging; Lesions; Magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - instrumentation; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Models, Biological; Phantoms, Imaging; Physical Stimulation - instrumentation; Physical Stimulation - methods; Real time; Real time systems; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; strain encoding; Stress, Mechanical; Systems Integration; Tagging; tissue deformation; Two dimensional; Ultrasonic imaging; Ultrasonic variables measurement
• ISSN: 0018-9294; 1558-2531
• DOI: 10.1109/TBME.2006.873690

An integrated system is proposed for real-time imaging of tissue deformation in response to externally applied mechanical compression. The purpose of the system is to noninvasively detect tissue lesions based on their stiffness. The method includes applying external compression to the examined subject and acquiring magnetic resonance strain-encoded images using a real-time pulse sequence. In the proposed system, only a single compression is necessary to obtain a two-dimensional map of tissue deformation in a slice, eliminating the need for a complicated compressing device. The system was built and validated using phantom experiments.