Correction of stress decay in intravascular elastography by combination of radial and tangential strain

Elastography combined with intravascular ultrasound can differentiate regions of different elasticity. However due to the cylindrical geometry, stress decreases with inversely to the radius, and strain distribution does not reflect elasticity distribution. We propose to provide an image linearly proportional to elasticity using tangential and radial strain forms derived from displacement in axisymmetrical cylinder. The study includes simulated and experimental phantoms. Images obtained from simulation and experiments show a contrast in good agreement with phantoms mechanical parameters. The results show the feasibility of this correction which enables to produce a quantitative image of elasticity.