Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Ultrasound Echo Is Related To Stress And Strain In Tendon, Sarah Duenwald, Hirohito Kobayashi, Kayt E. Frisch, Roderic Lakes, Ray Vanderby Jr.

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

The mechanical behavior of tendons has been well studied in vitro. A noninvasive method to acquire mechanical data would be highly beneficial. Elastography has been a promising method of gathering in vivo tissue mechanical behavior, but it has inherent limitations. This study presents acoustoelasticity as an alternative ultrasound-based method of measuring tendon stress and strain by reporting a relationship between ultrasonic echo intensity (B-mode ultrasound image brightness) and mechanical behavior of tendon in vitro. Porcine digital flexor tendons were cyclically loaded in a mechanical testing system while an ultrasonic echo response was recorded. We report that echo intensity …