Non-contact ultrasound shear wave generation and wave speed measurement in soft tissue

This study investigates the feasibility of non-contact ultrasound shear wave generation and detection using a line focused air-coupled transducer and miniaturized fiber optic-based Sagnac system for soft tissue mechanical characterization. This paper focused on the measuring ultrasound shear wave velocity on a phantom tissue surface. Different phantoms with different stiffness were used as samples. The group velocity and phase velocity of the generated ultrasound surface wave were measured. The results showed that the proposed system was efficient in ultrasound shear wave generation and detection. It has potential applications in non-contact and non-invasive soft tissue mechanical properties characterizations.