Characterization of transmitted motion in fetal lung: quantitative analysis

A simple two-dimensional analytic model is evaluated for transmitted cardiac motion in fetal lung. The model treats the latter as being an incompressible viscoelastic medium. The mean radial deformation in an elastic medium is demonstrated to depend on a length parameter l approximately square root of mu/rho omega 2, where mu, rho, and omega correspond to elastic shear modulus, mass density, and frequency of cardiac motion, respectively. Digitized M-mode images are demonstrated as a feasible method to measure such deformations in vivo. Data for two patients are presented to illustrate the technique.