Tissue Doppler optical coherence elastography for real time strain rate and strain mapping of soft tissue

The authors present a tissue Doppler optical coherence elastography (tDOCE) method to image tissue movements, strain rates, and strains of soft tissue in real time. The method exploits the Doppler effect in optical coherence interferograms induced by tissue motion and measures the phase changes between successive A scans to resolve the instantaneous tissue displacement. The tDOCE system is capable of displaying the strain rates and strain maps of tissue subjected to a dynamic compression in real time. The system is demonstrated by the use of a heterogeneous tissue phantom with known mechanical properties.