Using dynamic optical coherence elastography to measure material properties

Optical coherence elastography (OCE) has been used successfully for characterizing changes tissue mechanical properties particularly in breast tissue and the eye. Many dynamic ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) methods have been developed over the past three decades that use propagating waves with different dynamic excitations. We have successfully translated excitation and analysis methods from SWE for applications using OCE. We report here recent developments that utilize focused ultrasound to produce acoustic radiation force or mechanical vibration. We have explored characterizing the rheological properties such as surface tension and viscosity of various fluids. Additionally, we have applied these OCE methods to soft tissues such as blood clots, aorta samples, and porcine kidneys. These techniques have opened new areas for tissue characterization that take advantage of the sensitivity and resolution of optical coherence tomography and the strengths of wave-based approaches for quantifying material properties.