Surface acoustic wave velocity mapping of tissue samples using scanning laser Doppler velocimeter

To estimate the distribution of the elastic constants over tissue samples, we measure the propagation velocities of the surface acoustic wave (SAW) at each point of the samples using a scanning laser Doppler velocimeter, which are displayed as two-dimensional maps. In a pork sample, the SAW velocity in fat is experimentally shown to be faster than that in lean meat, which is well recognized from the maps.