Confocal air-coupled ultrasonic optical coherence elastography probe for quantitative biomechanics
Fernando Zvietcovich, Achuth Nair, Yogeshwari S. Ambekar, Manmohan Singh, Salavat R. Aglyamov, Michael D. Twa, Kirill V. Larin
Abstract
We present an air-coupled ultrasonic radiation force probe co-focused with a phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography (OCT) system for quantitative wave-based elastography. A custom-made 1 MHz spherically focused piezoelectric transducer with a concentric 10 mm wide circular opening allowed for confocal micro-excitation of waves and phase-sensitive OCT imaging. Phantom studies demonstrated the capabilities of this probe to produce quasi-harmonic excitation up to 4 kHz for generation of elastic waves. Experimental results in ocular tissues showed highly detailed 2D and 3D elasticity mapping using this approach with great potential for clinical translation.