Effects of Loading and Boundary Conditions on the Performance of Ultrasound Compressional Viscoelastography: A Computational Simulation Study to Guide Experimental Design
Most biomaterials and tissues are viscoelastic; thus, evaluating viscoelastic properties is important for numerous biomedical applications. Compressional viscoelastography is an ultrasound imaging technique used for measuring the viscoelastic properties of biomaterials and tissues. It analyzes the c...
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doaj-966d08d47a4844ae9df1ca9db58d61692021-06-01T00:11:56ZengMDPI AGMaterials1996-19442021-05-01142590259010.3390/ma14102590Effects of Loading and Boundary Conditions on the Performance of Ultrasound Compressional Viscoelastography: A Computational Simulation Study to Guide Experimental DesignChe-Yu Lin0Ke-Vin Chang1Institute of Applied Mechanics, College of Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 10617, TaiwanDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei 100, TaiwanMost biomaterials and tissues are viscoelastic; thus, evaluating viscoelastic properties is important for numerous biomedical applications. Compressional viscoelastography is an ultrasound imaging technique used for measuring the viscoelastic properties of biomaterials and tissues. It analyzes the creep behavior of a material under an external mechanical compression. The aim of this study is to use finite element analysis to investigate how loading conditions (the distribution of the applied compressional pressure on the surface of the sample) and boundary conditions (the fixation method used to stabilize the sample) can affect the measurement accuracy of compressional viscoelastography. The results show that loading and boundary conditions in computational simulations of compressional viscoelastography can severely affect the measurement accuracy of the viscoelastic properties of materials. The measurement can only be accurate if the compressional pressure is exerted on the entire top surface of the sample, as well as if the bottom of the sample is fixed only along the vertical direction. These findings imply that, in an experimental validation study, the phantom design should take into account that the surface area of the pressure plate must be equal to or larger than that of the top surface of the sample, and the sample should be placed directly on the testing platform without any fixation (such as a sample container). The findings indicate that when applying compressional viscoelastography to real tissues in vivo, consideration should be given to the representative loading and boundary conditions. The findings of the present simulation study will provide a reference for experimental phantom designs regarding loading and boundary conditions, as well as guidance towards validating the experimental results of compressional viscoelastography.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/10/2590elastographymechanical propertiesviscoelastic propertiescreepstress relaxation |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Che-Yu Lin Ke-Vin Chang |
spellingShingle |
Che-Yu Lin Ke-Vin Chang Effects of Loading and Boundary Conditions on the Performance of Ultrasound Compressional Viscoelastography: A Computational Simulation Study to Guide Experimental Design Materials elastography mechanical properties viscoelastic properties creep stress relaxation |
author_facet |
Che-Yu Lin Ke-Vin Chang |
author_sort |
Che-Yu Lin |
title |
Effects of Loading and Boundary Conditions on the Performance of Ultrasound Compressional Viscoelastography: A Computational Simulation Study to Guide Experimental Design |
title_short |
Effects of Loading and Boundary Conditions on the Performance of Ultrasound Compressional Viscoelastography: A Computational Simulation Study to Guide Experimental Design |
title_full |
Effects of Loading and Boundary Conditions on the Performance of Ultrasound Compressional Viscoelastography: A Computational Simulation Study to Guide Experimental Design |
title_fullStr |
Effects of Loading and Boundary Conditions on the Performance of Ultrasound Compressional Viscoelastography: A Computational Simulation Study to Guide Experimental Design |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of Loading and Boundary Conditions on the Performance of Ultrasound Compressional Viscoelastography: A Computational Simulation Study to Guide Experimental Design |
title_sort |
effects of loading and boundary conditions on the performance of ultrasound compressional viscoelastography: a computational simulation study to guide experimental design |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Materials |
issn |
1996-1944 |
publishDate |
2021-05-01 |
description |
Most biomaterials and tissues are viscoelastic; thus, evaluating viscoelastic properties is important for numerous biomedical applications. Compressional viscoelastography is an ultrasound imaging technique used for measuring the viscoelastic properties of biomaterials and tissues. It analyzes the creep behavior of a material under an external mechanical compression. The aim of this study is to use finite element analysis to investigate how loading conditions (the distribution of the applied compressional pressure on the surface of the sample) and boundary conditions (the fixation method used to stabilize the sample) can affect the measurement accuracy of compressional viscoelastography. The results show that loading and boundary conditions in computational simulations of compressional viscoelastography can severely affect the measurement accuracy of the viscoelastic properties of materials. The measurement can only be accurate if the compressional pressure is exerted on the entire top surface of the sample, as well as if the bottom of the sample is fixed only along the vertical direction. These findings imply that, in an experimental validation study, the phantom design should take into account that the surface area of the pressure plate must be equal to or larger than that of the top surface of the sample, and the sample should be placed directly on the testing platform without any fixation (such as a sample container). The findings indicate that when applying compressional viscoelastography to real tissues in vivo, consideration should be given to the representative loading and boundary conditions. The findings of the present simulation study will provide a reference for experimental phantom designs regarding loading and boundary conditions, as well as guidance towards validating the experimental results of compressional viscoelastography. |
topic |
elastography mechanical properties viscoelastic properties creep stress relaxation |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/10/2590 |
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