P1C-4 Strain Imaging Using a Rectilinear 2-D Array: Preliminary Results

Ultrasound-based strain imaging is an imaging technique that detects variations in tissue stiffness. To date, such techniques have largely been done in two dimensions (azimuth and axial) using 1D linear or phased arrays. With 2D arrays, 3D strain imaging could improve the detection of stiffer malignant tumors by reducing out-of-plane decorrelation noise, reducing user-dependence of the imaging process and providing additional clinically significant data about the tumor such as the three-dimensional shape and volume of the tumor. In this paper, we describe our initial efforts in 3-D elasticity imaging where 2 orthogonal strain images of a gelatin phantoms with a 6 mm diameter stiff cylindrical agar inclusion have been acquired using a 4 cm times 4 cm 2D array