Systematic FEMSS of Soft Tissue Viscoelasticity

Abstract CMMI - 0900596

The hypothesis for the proposed finite element model based state space (FEMSS) is that given that the displacements in a living tissue are known (can be provided via MRI, ultrasound etc.) then we can characterize its elastic and viscous properties. The FEMSS is not based on a particular imaging technique in order to acquire the displacements. During this project we will develop an ultrasound array so as to have immediate correlation and validation of the model in house, and we will use MRI images to correlate our data. In order to achieve our goal we propose to (a) Investigate linear and non-linear solid dynamics models for soft tissues, (b) Model and characterize of uncertainties presented in measurements and our system, (c) Develop a phantom virtual laboratory, and to (d) Experimental validation and fine tuning. We will fine-tune our FEMSS model with experiments performed in our labs.

If successful the proposed work will provide a consistent, unitary mathematical model for the solution of the forward problem for the non-invasive characterization of living tissues. We anticipate that this work will create enabling technologies for tissue diagnostics with applications in cancer research, remote surgery and athletics. Moreover this multidisciplinary program will bring in tasks from materials science, bioengineering, micro & nano measurements, geometric & material modeling controls, hi-tech computational techniques, and image processing to develop a state of the art tissue diagnostic tool, with unique quantitative measuring capabilities and that is described mathematically to its entirety. Graduate and undergraduate students will be trained in state of the art computational and experimental techniques. We will actively collaborate and train minority students and we will outreach to local communities in order to educate the public about the use of materials modeling in biomedical applications. Results dissemination will occur via internet, journals and conferences.