Table 1 Commonly used techniques for the mechanical characterization of living tissues.
From: Causal contributors to tissue stiffness and clinical relevance in urology
Technique | Concept | Modulus | Sample | Scale | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) | Atomic-level indentation (nanoindentation) or shear rheology (atomic force microscopy-based rheology) | E (indentation), G′, G″ (shear) | Ex vivo tissue | Microscale, nanoscale | |
Shear rheometry | Application of small-amplitude oscillatory shear stress and quantification of the resulting strain | G′, G″ (shear, viscoelastic) | Ex vivo tissue | Macroscale | |
Compressive deformation | Classic stress-strain analysis. Uniaxial stress is applied to compress the material and a relationship is established with the resulting strain | E (elastic) | Ex vivo tissue | Macroscale | |
Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) | Magnetic resonance visualization of tissue deformation resulting from the introduction of shear waves into the tissue derived from external vibrations noninvasive, promising for clinical applications | G′, G″ (shear, viscoelastic) | In vivo tissue, | Macroscale | |
Real time elastography (RTE) | Sonography-based noninvasive method. It uses conventional ultrasound probes to compare echo signals before and after slight compression | E (elastic) | In vivo tissue | Macroscale | |
Shear wave elatography (SWE) | External acoustic force pulses are used to generate shear waves which propagate perpendicular to the ultrasound beam, causing transient displacements that result in an image of the distribution of the shear-wave velocities | Shear wave speed (SWS), that can be converted into E and G | In vivo tissue | Macroscale |
