Guided waves in pre-stressed hyperelastic plates and tubes: Application to the ultrasound elastography of thin-walled soft materials

• Published in: Journal of the mechanics and physics of solids Vol. 102; pp. 67 - 79
• Main Authors: Li, Guo-Yang, He, Qiong, Mangan, Robert, Xu, Guoqiang, Mo, Chi, Luo, Jianwen, Destrade, Michel, Cao, Yanping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2017; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Acoustic properties; Biomedical materials; Bladder; Computer simulation; Deformation; Elastic properties; Finite element method; Finite element simulations; Fluid-loaded plates and tubes; In vivo methods and tests; Mechanical properties; Phantom gel experiments; Pre-stressed thin-walled soft biomaterials; Radiation; Soft tissues; Sound waves; Studies; Surgical implants; Theoretical analysis; Tubes; Ultrasonic imaging; Ultrasonic testing; Ultrasound; Ultrasound elastography; Waves; Ultrasound elastography; Theoretical analysis; Finite element simulations; Pre-stressed thin-walled soft biomaterials; Fluid-loaded plates and tubes; Phantom gel experiments
• ISSN: 0022-5096; 1873-4782
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmps.2017.02.008

In vivo measurement of the mechanical properties of thin-walled soft tissues (e.g., mitral valve, artery and bladder) and in situ mechanical characterization of thin-walled artificial soft biomaterials in service are of great challenge and difficult to address via commonly used testing methods. Here we investigate the properties of guided waves generated by focused acoustic radiation force in immersed pre-stressed plates and tubes, and show that they can address this challenge. To this end, we carry out both (i) a theoretical analysis based on incremental wave motion in finite deformation theory and (ii) finite element simulations. Our analysis leads to a novel method based on the ultrasound elastography to image the elastic properties of pre-stressed thin-walled soft tissues and artificial soft materials in a non-destructive and non-invasive manner. To validate the theoretical and numerical solutions and demonstrate the usefulness of the corresponding method in practical measurements, we perform (iii) experiments on polyvinyl alcohol cryogel phantoms immersed in water, using the Verasonics V1 System equipped with a L10-5 transducer. Finally, potential clinical applications of the method have been discussed.