Simulation, design and implementation of external mechanical vibration for shear wave elastography imaging

Ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) imaging is commercially available on expensive systems. ARF-based shear wave generation requires complex electronics and may induce thermal stress to the tissue. There is need and interest to develop external mechanical vibration (EMV) as a low-cost approach to generate shear waves. Commercial development of mechanical vibration using a single-element transducer has been successful but lacks 2D imaging as guidance. Here we present the simulation, design and implementation of a new way of performing external mechanical vibration that could be adopted by commercial ultrasound probes for SWE imaging.