This thesis presents a novel device for measuring the viscoelastic properties of biological tissue. The ability to measure the mechanical properties of tissue is of special interest for many medical applications; ranging from disease diagnostics to surgical operations and simulations. In practice, physicians use a technique called palpation to detect the presence of viscoelastic property changes which are associated with the healthiness of tissue. Palpation relies exclusively on the expertise and experience of the physician and is only effective if the difference in tissue stiffness is profound. Current technologies for the measurement of tissue healthiness, including ultrasound, have been shown to be incapable of detecting isoechoic lesions even though they were significantly stiffer than surrounding tissue. The new device presents a reliable, accurate and quantitative method for determining the mechanical properties of soft tissue. Consequently, the healthiness of the tissue or the presence of lesions can be found.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/29608 |
| Date | 25 August 2011 |
| Creators | Sabti, Ali |
| Contributors | Zu, Jean W. |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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