Observations of tissue response to acoustic radiation force: opportunities for imaging

Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) imaging is a method for characterizing local variations in tissue mechanical properties. In this method, a single ultrasonic transducer array is used to both apply temporally short localized radiation forces within tissue and to track the resulting displacements through time. In an ongoing study of the response of tissue to temporally short radiation force excitation, ARFI datasets have been obtained of ex vivo tissues under various focal configurations. The goal of this paper is to report observations of the response of tissue to radiation force and discuss the implications of these results in the construction of clinical imaging devices.