Quasi-Linear Viscoelastic Characterization of Soft Tissue-Mimicking Materials

We present a novel method based on the quasi-linear viscoelastic (QLV) theory to describe the time-dependent behavior of soft materials. Unlike previous methods for deriving QLV parameters, we characterize the elastic and viscous behavior of materials separately by using two different sets of experiments. To model the nonlinear elastic behavior, we fit the elastic stress response with a one-term Ogden model. Then, we model the relaxation behavior with a Prony series to compare the stress relaxation of the material at different timescales. This new method allows us to characterize materials with narrow confidence intervals (high accuracy), independently from the loading conditions. We validate our model using samples made of phantom materials that mimic normal and cancerous prostate tissues in terms of Young's modulus. Our model is shown to distinguish materials with similar elastic (viscous) properties but different viscous (elastic) properties. Drawing a precise distinction between the phantoms, this method could be useful for prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis; but significant clinical studies will be needed in the future.