Fig. 2: A finite element simulation of SWV in the spinal cord under incremental tensile loads.

a An illustration of the model configuration is shown. The term lateral is utilized in its traditional ultrasound verbiage, which counterintuitively corresponds to the anatomical cranial-caudal axis. Similarly, the term elevation anatomically corresponds to the medial-lateral axis. Ultrasound induced and tracked shear wave propagation through the spinal cord at fixed tensile loads. b A smoothed trace (maximum amplitude) of the shear wave wavefront was plotted for the maximum applied load (256 g) in yellow and the cord without an applied load (0 g) in blue. c The squared SWV-tension relationship was plotted with a linear regression fit and prediction band (95%) in magenta. The squared SWV baseline of 3.108 m2 s−2 equates to a SWV simulation baseline of 1.76 m/s.