3D strain estimation of soft biological tissues based on a constrained minimization strategy

The aim of this study is the estimation of the three dimensional strain occurring in soft biological tissues under compressive forces, through the processing of radiofrequency ultrasound volumes. This work is one of the first attempts to deal with the 3D problem of tissue motion under load. In this article, we propose a new adaptive and iterative numerical model, allowing full-resolved strain parameters estimation. This model is based on an objective function minimization with linear inequalities constraints. An original technique of adaptive displacement of the region of study is also considered. Preliminary tests are performed on a volume of ultrasound data obtained from a 3D numerical phantom. Axial, lateral, and elevational displacements and axial strain fields are estimated, and compared with the theory