Quantifying viscosity and elasticity using holographic imaging by Rayleigh wave dispersion

Viscoelasticity is an important diagnostic parameter to investigate physiological dysfunctions in biological tissues. This Letter reports the quantification of viscoelastic parameters by Rayleigh wave tracing on the surface of tissue-mimicking phantoms using holographic imaging. The Rayleigh wave is induced by an electromechanical actuator on the surface of oil-in-gelatin phantoms and a biological tissue sample followed by holographic imaging and reconstruction of the wave. The frequency-dependent velocity dispersion is fitted to a Voigt model for the quantification of viscous and elastic moduli. The viscoelastic parameters calculated by the proposed method are validated by comparing the results from a conventional mechanical rheometer.