Full metadata record
DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributorDepartment of Health Technology and Informaticsen_US
dc.creatorLu, Minhua-
dc.identifier.urihttps://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/2740-
dc.languageEnglishen_US
dc.publisherHong Kong Polytechnic University-
dc.rightsAll rights reserveden_US
dc.titleDevelopment of a noncontact ultrasound indentation system for measuring tissue material properties using water jeten_US
dcterms.abstractTo measure or image the mechanical properties of tissues has been attracting increasing research efforts during the recent decades. The purpose of this research was to develop a noncontact ultrasound indentation system using water jet compression. The key idea was to use a water jet as the indenter and simultaneously as the medium for ultrasound to propagate through so as to measure or map the mechanical properties of tissues. A high frequency focused ultrasound (20 MHz) transducer was used in the system for measuring tissue thickness and deformation at a high resolution. A pressure sensor installed within the water pipe could monitor the water pressure during the indentation process. The device was fixed on a high-resolution 3-D translating device, thus the system could easily conduct 1-D or 2-D scan across the tissue sample and obtain the modulus distribution of soft tissue. Tissue-mimicking phantoms were used for the validation of the ultrasound water jet indentation system. It was found that the stiffness ratio defined as the pressure applied on phantom surface to the local strain of the phantom correlated very well with the Young's modulus of the phantom measured using the uniaxial compression test. Therefore, the stiffness ratio was employed as an indicator of the tissue stiffness. The repeatability of the measurement was very good with Intra-class coefficient (ICC) > 0.99. The phantom study was also used to demonstrate the ability of the new system to map the distribution of the stiffness. Results showed that both the spatial resolution (0.4 mm) and the contrast resolution (6.7 kPa) were good enough for the modulus imaging of most soft tissues. The ultrasound water jet indentation system provided a noncontact way for the measurement of both mechanical and acoustical properties of soft tissues. It was used to assess the degeneration of articular cartilage in this study. It was found that, after the bovine patellar cartilages were treated by 0.25% trypsin solution for 4 hours, their stiffness ratios were significantly reduced by 44.3% +- 17.0%, and the peak-to-peak amplitude of ultrasound echoes reflected from the cartilage surface significantly decreased by 35.64% +- 19.51% in comparison with the intact samples. The system was also employed to monitor the healing of the bone-tendon junction tissues of rabbits after partial patellectomy. Low intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) and functional electrical stimulation (FES) were used to accelerate the healing of the bone-tendon junction structures. After studying the stiffness and Young's modulus of the remained patellar cartilage, the junction tissue and the tendon, it was found that the patellar cartilages and junctions of the postoperative samples were significantly softer than those of the control samples, and the junction tissues of the samples treated by LIPUS and FES were significantly stiffer than those of the postoperative samples without any treatment. With further improvement of the system and the development of an appropriate model to simulate the interaction between the water jet and soft tissues, the ultrasound water jet indentation system could be potentially used to assess the mechanical and acoustical properties of living tissues, tissues with small dimensions, bioengineered tissues, and other materials.en_US
dcterms.extentxxvii, 197 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.en_US
dcterms.isPartOfPolyU Electronic Thesesen_US
dcterms.issued2007en_US
dcterms.educationalLevelAll Doctorateen_US
dcterms.educationalLevelPh.D.en_US
dcterms.LCSHHong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations.en_US
dcterms.LCSHUltrasonic imaging.en_US
dcterms.LCSHUltrasonic waves -- Measurement.en_US
dcterms.LCSHCartilage -- Mechanical properties.en_US
dcterms.accessRightsopen accessen_US

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
b21167485.pdfFor All Users3.21 MBAdobe PDFView/Open


Copyright Undertaking

As a bona fide Library user, I declare that:

  1. I will abide by the rules and legal ordinances governing copyright regarding the use of the Database.
  2. I will use the Database for the purpose of my research or private study only and not for circulation or further reproduction or any other purpose.
  3. I agree to indemnify and hold the University harmless from and against any loss, damage, cost, liability or expenses arising from copyright infringement or unauthorized usage.

By downloading any item(s) listed above, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the copyright undertaking as stated above, and agree to be bound by all of its terms.

Show simple item record

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/2740