Frontiers in Physics (Jun 2021)

Existing and Potential Applications of Elastography for Measuring the Viscoelasticity of Biological Tissues In Vivo

  • Kaiwen Zhang,
  • Kaiwen Zhang,
  • Min Zhu,
  • Min Zhu,
  • Evan Thomas,
  • Sevan Hopyan,
  • Sevan Hopyan,
  • Sevan Hopyan,
  • Yu Sun,
  • Yu Sun,
  • Yu Sun

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2021.670571
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9

Abstract

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Mechanical tissue properties contribute to tissue shape change during development. Emerging evidence suggests that gradients of viscoelasticity correspond to cell movement and gene expression patterns. To accurately define mechanisms of morphogenesis, a combination of precise empirical measurements and theoretical approaches are required. Here, we review elastography as a method to characterize viscoelastic properties of tissue in vivo. We discuss its current clinical applications in mature tissues and its potential for characterizing embryonic tissues.

Keywords