Ex vivo measurement of shear wave speed dispersion in placenta using transient elastography

Obstetric pathologies associated with placental dysfunction correspond to an important public health issue. However, placental function cannot be studied directly during pregnancy. In the case of intrauterine growth retardation, significant changes in the villous architecture are observed, most likely changing the elasticity of IUGR placentas compared to normal placentas. In this context, we propose to develop a 2D transient elastography system, dedicated to the placenta and adapted for in vivo measurements, based on the coupling of a shear wave generated by an external vibration and ultrasound images acquired at an ultrafast rate. To be particularly sensitive to the structure of this organ, a frequency analysis of the complex shear modulus is realized. An ex vivo feasibility of the method is presented in this work.