A doublet mechanics model for the ultrasound characterization of malignant tissues

Francesco Gentile, Jason Sakamoto, Raffaella Righetti, Paolo Decuzzi, Mauro Ferrari

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DOI: 10.4236/jbise.2011.45046                

Abstract

Non invasive ultrasound-based imaging systems are being more commonly used in clinical bio-microscopy applications for both ex vivo and in vivo analysis of tissue pathological and physiological states. These modalities usually employ high-frequency ultrasound systems to overcome spatial resolution limits of conventional clinical diagnostic approaches. Biological tissues are non continuous, non homogeneous and exhibit a multiscale organization from the sub-cellular level (£1 mm) to the organ level (³1 cm). When the ultrasonic wavelength used to probe the tissues becomes comparable with the tissue's microstructure scale, the propagation and reflection of ultrasound waves cannot be fully interpreted employing classical models developed within the continuum assumption. In this study, we present a multiscale model for analyzing the mechanical response of a non-continuum double-layer system exposed to an ultrasound source. The model is developed within the framework of the Doublet Mechanics theory and can be applied to the non-invasive analysis of complex biological tissues.

Keywords

Nanomechanics; Doublet Mechanics; Ultrasound; Spectroscopy; Biopsy; Microscopic Elastography; Ultrasound Biomicroscopy

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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