A viscoelastic property study in canine liver before and after HIFU ablation in vitro

Elasticity imaging techniques have shown great potential in detecting High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) lesions based on their distinct biomechanical properties. However, quantitative tissue viscoelastic properties and the optimal power to obtain the best contrast parameters remain scarce. In the present study, fresh canine livers were ablated ex vivo using six different acoustic powers and time durations, covering an energy range of 80-330 J. Biopsy samples were then extracted and examined, using rheometry, to obtain the viscoelastic properties post-ablation in vitro. All mechanical parameters were found to be frequency dependent. Both the shear complex modulus and viscosity exhibited monotonic increase for the first 4 groups (80-240 J), relatively lower HIFU powers. Similar parameters from groups 5-6 (300-330 J) showed relative decrease, still higher than unablated group 0. The tangent of the stress-strain phase shift was found to vary from unablated group 0 to ablated groups 1-6. However, no measurable difference amongst the ablated groups was found. Decreased stiffening at high powers compared to the baseline could likely be due to compromised structural integrity in the pulverized tissue well beyond the boiling point. The findings here can be used to optimize the efficient monitoring and treatment of tumors using any thermally-based methods where strong tissue damage is expected and/or warranted, respectively.