Ultrasound Elastography for Biomedical Applications and Medicine

37 Historical Growth of Ultrasound Elastography and Directions for the Future

Armen Sarvazyan¹ and Matthew W. Urban²

¹ Artann Laboratories, West Trenton, NJ, USA

² Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

37.1 Introduction

The field of elastography or elasticity imaging has grown from in its infancy more than two decades ago to become an emerging medical imaging modality. It has found utility among physicians for many different applications. The field and the level of clinical applications are projected to grow.

The purpose of this chapter is to examine how the field of ultrasound elastography has grown over time. To measure this impact we analyzed the publication record using PubMed for the field and looked at different distinctions and trends. Additionally, we offer a perspective on future investigations that could be pursued for the use of acoustic radiation force (ARF) for ultrasound elastographic applications.

There are numerous methods that fall under the umbrella of the field of “ultrasound elastography” that have been detailed in previous chapters of this book. Figure 37.1 demonstrates the various techniques employed in the field of elastography and elasticity imaging as a whole [1–22]. This figure lists the various means of excitation. The methods use mechanical, endogenous, or acoustic radiation force as the deformation source.