Viscoelastic response (VisR) imaging for assessment of viscoelasticity in voigt materials

Viscoelastic response (VisR) imaging is presented as a new acoustic radiation force (ARF)-based elastographic imaging method. Exploiting the Voigt model, VisR imaging estimates displacement in only the ARF region of excitation from one or two successive ARF impulses to estimate τ
_σ
, the relaxation time for constant stress. Double-push VisR τ
_σ
estimates were not statistically significantly different (p <; 0.02) from those of shearwave dispersion ultrasound vibrometry (SDUV) or monitored steady-state excitation recovery (MSSER) ultrasound in six homogeneous viscoelastic tissue mimicking phantoms with elastic moduli ranging from 3.92 to 15.34 kPa and coefficients of viscosity ranging from 0.87 to 14.06 Pa·s. In two-dimensional imaging, double-push VisR τ
_σ
images discriminated a viscous spherical inclusion in a structured phantom with higher CNR over a larger axial range than single-push VisR or conventional acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) ultrasound. Finally, 2-D in vivo double-push VisR images in normal canine semitendinosus muscle were compared with spatially matched histochemistry to corroborate lower double-push VisR τ
_σ
values in highly collagenated connective tissue than in muscle, suggesting double-push VisR's in vivo relevance to diagnostic imaging, particularly in muscle. The key advantages and disadvantages to VisR, including lack of compensation for inertial terms, are discussed.