Exploration of abnormal skin tissue (Marfan syndrome) with 2D high resolution elastography

The purpose of the present study was to compare mechanical properties of healthy and diseased human skins. We used an elastographic imaging system described and validated in a previous work (Gahagnon, 2006). This system was based on combination of two devices: an extensiometer that submitted the skin to an uniaxial stress cycle of ten seconds and a high resolution echographic system with an axial resolution of 150 ¿m (20 MHz) and a frame rate of 10 images per second. Thickness of the skin, efforts applied and kinetics of the axial strain were compared between healthy subjects and patients with Marfan syndrome. Children with Marfan syndrome showed significant differences compared with the healthy children.