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Given its real-time capability to quantify mechanical tissue properties, ultrasound shear wave elastography holds significant promise in clinical musculoskeletal imaging. However, existing shear wave elastography methods fall short in enabling full-limb analysis of 3D anatomical structures under diverse loading conditions, and may introduce measurement bias due to sonographer-applied force on the transducer. These limitations pose numerous challenges, particularly for 3D computational biomechanical tissue modeling in areas like prosthetic socket design. In this feasibility study, a clinical linear ultrasound transducer system with integrated shear wave elastography capabilities was utilized to scan both a calibrated phantom and human limbs in a water tank imaging setup. By conducting 2D and 3D scans under varying compressive loads, this study demonstrates the feasibility of volumetric ultrasound shear wave elastography of human limbs. Our preliminary results showcase a potential method for evaluating 3D spatially varying tissue properties, offering future extensions to computational biomechanical modeling of tissue for various clinical scenarios., Comment: Ultrasonic Imaging. 2024

Finite element analysis (FEA) can be used to evaluate applied interface pressures and internal tissue strains for computational prosthetic socket design. This type of framework requires realistic patient-specific limb geometry and constitutive properties. In recent studies, indentations and inverse FEA with MRI-derived 3D patient geometries were used for constitutive parameter identification. However, long computational times and use of specialized equipment presents challenges for clinical deployment. In this study, we present a novel approach for constitutive parameter identification using a combination of FEA, ultrasound indentation, and shear wave elastography. Local shear modulus measurement using elastography during an ultrasound indentation experiment has particular significance for biomechanical modeling of the residual limb since there are known regional dependencies of soft tissue properties such as varying levels of scarring and atrophy. Beyond prosthesis design, this work has broader implications to the fields of muscle health and monitoring of disease progression.

Muscle tissue drives nearly all movement in the animal kingdom, providing power, mobility, and dexterity. Technologies for measuring muscle tissue motion, such as sonomicrometry, fluoromicrometry, and ultrasound, have significantly advanced our understanding of biomechanics. Yet, the field lacks the ability to monitor muscle tissue motion for animal behavior outside the lab. Towards addressing this issue, we previously introduced magnetomicrometry, a method that uses magnetic beads to wirelessly monitor muscle tissue length changes, and we validated magnetomicrometry via tightly-controlled in situ testing. In this study we validate the accuracy of magnetomicrometry against fluoromicrometry during untethered running in an in vivo turkey model. We demonstrate real-time muscle tissue length tracking of the freely-moving turkeys executing various motor activities, including ramp ascent and descent, vertical ascent and descent, and free roaming movement. Given the demonstrated capacity of magnetomicrometry to track muscle movement in untethered animals, we feel that this technique will enable new scientific explorations and an improved understanding of muscle function. -- -- El tejido muscular es el motor de casi todos los movimientos del reino animal, ya que proporciona fuerza, movilidad y destreza. Las tecnolog\'ias para medir el movimiento del tejido muscular, como la sonomicrometr\'ia, la fluoromicrometr\'ia y el ultrasonido, han avanzado considerablemente la comprensi\'on de la biomec\'anica. Sin embargo, este campo carece de la capacidad de rastrear el movimiento del tejido muscular en el comportamiento animal fuera del laboratorio. Para abordar este problema, presentamos previamente la magnetomicrometr\'ia, un m\'etodo que utiliza peque\~nos imanes para rastrear de forma inal\'ambrica los cambios de longitud del tejido muscular, y validamos la magnetomicrometr\'ia mediante pruebas estrechamente controladas in situ. En este estudio validamos la precisi\'on de la magnetomicrometr\'ia en comparaci\'on con la fluoromicrometr\'ia usando un modelo de pavo in vivo mientras corre libremente. Demostramos el rastreo en tiempo real de la longitud del tejido muscular de los pavos que se mueven libremente ejecutando varias actividades motoras, incluyendo el ascenso y el descenso en rampa, el ascenso y el descenso vertical, y el movimiento libre. Dada la capacidad demostrada de la magnetomicrometr\'ia para rastrear el movimiento muscular en animales en un contexto m\'ovil, creemos que esta t\'ecnica permitir\'a nuevas exploraciones cient\'ificas y una mejor comprensi\'on de la funci\'on muscular., Comment: in Spanish language. Translation of the postprint, with the published version in English appended to the end of the PDF. Shared First Authorship: Cameron R. Taylor and Seong Ho Yeon; Shared Senior and Corresponding Authorship: Thomas J. Roberts and Hugh M. Herr

Although the socket is critical in a prosthetic system for a person with limb amputation, the methods of its design are largely artisanal. A roadblock for a repeatable and quantitative socket design process is the lack of predictive and patient specific biomechanical models of the residuum. This study presents the evaluation of such a model using a combined experimental-numerical approach. The model geometry and tissue boundaries are derived from MRI. The soft tissue non-linear elastic and viscoelastic mechanical behavior was evaluated using inverse finite element analysis (FEA) of in-vivo indentation experiments. A custom designed robotic in-vivo indentation system was used to provide a rich experimental data set of force versus time at 18 sites across a limb. During FEA, the tissues were represented by two layers, namely the skin-adipose layer and an underlying muscle-soft tissue complex. The non-linear elastic behavior was modeled using 2nd order Ogden hyperelastic formulations, and viscoelasticity was modeled using the quasi-linear theory of viscoelasticity. To determine the material parameters for each tissue, an inverse FEA based optimization routine was used that minimizes the combined mean of the squared force differences between the numerical and experimental force-time curves for indentations at 4 distinct anatomical regions on the residuum. The optimization provided the following material parameters for the skin-adipose layer: c=5.22 kPa, m=4.79, gamma=3.57 MPa, tau=0.32 s and for the muscle-soft tissue complex: c=5.20 kPa, m=4.78, gamma=3.47 MPa, tau=0.34 s. These parameters were evaluated to predict the force-time curves for the remaining 14 anatomical locations. The mean percentage error (mean absolute error/ maximum experimental force) for these predictions was 7 +/- 3%. The mean percentage error at the 4 sites used for the optimization was 4%.