Stretchable ultrasonic arrays for the three-dimensional mapping of the modulus of deep tissue

Hongjie Hu(University of California San Diego), Yuxiang Ma(University of California San Diego), Xiaoxiang Gao(University of California San Diego), Dawei Song(University of Pennsylvania), Mohan Li(University of California San Diego), Hao Huang(University of California San Diego), Xuejun Qian(University of Southern California), Ray S. Wu(University of California San Diego), Keren Shi(University of California San Diego), Hong Ding(University of California San Diego), Muyang Lin(University of California San Diego), Xiangjun Chen(University of California San Diego), Wenbo Zhao(Universität Hamburg), Baiyan Qi(University of California San Diego), Sai Zhou(University of California San Diego), Ruimin Chen(University of Southern California), Yue Gu(University of California San Diego), Yimu Chen(University of California San Diego), Yusheng Lei(University of California San Diego), Chonghe Wang(University of California San Diego), Chunfeng Wang(University of California San Diego), Yitian Tong(University of California San Diego), Haotian Cui(University of Toronto), Abdulhameed Abdal(University of California San Diego), Yangzhi Zhu(University of California San Diego), Xinyu Tian(University of California San Diego), Zhaoxin Chen(University of California San Diego), Chengchangfeng Lu(University of California San Diego), Xinyi Yang(University of California San Diego), Jing Mu(University of California San Diego), Zhiyuan Lou(University of California San Diego), Mohammad Eghtedari(University of California San Diego), Qifa Zhou(University of Southern California), Assad A. Oberai(University of Southern California), Sheng Xu(University of California San Diego)
Nature Biomedical Engineering
May 1, 2023
10.1038/s41551-023-01038-w
Cited by 128Open Access
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Abstract

Serial assessment of the biomechanical properties of tissues can be used to aid the early detection and management of pathophysiological conditions, to track the evolution of lesions and to evaluate the progress of rehabilitation. However, current methods are invasive, can be used only for short-term measurements, or have insufficient penetration depth or spatial resolution. Here we describe a stretchable ultrasonic array for performing serial non-invasive elastographic measurements of tissues up to 4 cm beneath the skin at a spatial resolution of 0.5 mm. The array conforms to human skin and acoustically couples with it, allowing for accurate elastographic imaging, which we validated via magnetic resonance elastography. We used the device to map three-dimensional distributions of the Young's modulus of tissues ex vivo, to detect microstructural damage in the muscles of volunteers before the onset of soreness and to monitor the dynamic recovery process of muscle injuries during physiotherapies. The technology may facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting tissue biomechanics.

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