Mechanical characterization of tissue mimicking phantoms by broadband surface acoustic waves

Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) shows great potential in non-destructive mechanical characterization, it promises a non-invasive method of diagnosis of cirrhosis cutaneous and subcutaneous tissues. This paper explores a rapid way to evaluate the elastic property of soft tissue mimicking phantom by the analysis of SAWs phase velocity. An electromagnetic shaker with a line source was used to generate SAWs by square wave stimulus. A laser-vibrometer with displacement decoding mode was used to detect the SAWs. The phase velocities on agar phantoms were estimated. The result showed that the evaluation of SAWs phase velocity could be served as an accurate and rapid estimation of elasticity properties of soft materials.