Contact angle and indentation velocity dependency for a resonance sensor--evaluation on soft tissue silicone models

Human tissue stiffness can vary due to different tissue conditions such as cancer tumours. Earlier studies show that stiffness may be detected with a resonance sensor that measures frequency shift and contact force at application. Through the frequency shift and the contact force, a tissue stiffness parameter can be derived. This study evaluated how the probe application angle and indentation velocity affected the results and determined the maximum parameter errors. The evaluation was made on flat silicone discs with specified hardness. The frequency shift, the force and the stiffness parameter all varied with contact angle and indentation velocity. A contact angle of ≤10° was acceptable for reliable measurements. A low indentation velocity was recommended. The maximum errors for the system were <1.1% of the measured values. It was concluded that contact angle and indentation velocity have to be considered in the clinical setting. The angular dependency is especially important in clinical use for studying stiffness of human soft tissue, e.g. in prostate cancer diagnosis.