Abstrakt
Elastography (EG) is a method of evaluating tissues on the basis of stiffness (in other words: elasticity). EG does not assess the anatomy, rather the quality of a tissue, because it is presumed that the quality of a malignant tissue differs from that of a benign one - the malignant tissue is stiffer.
The principles of EG were first described in 1987, and its application in imaging and in its detection of prostate cancer were first reported in 2002. Although it has existed for several years, its use has recently become more frequent.
There are several ways for tissue excitation to create strain (compression, energy pulses, or vibrations), and various types of imaging, such as ultrasound or magnetic resonance, can be used to detect the tissue strain. Ultrasound is the most common medical imaging used in this application, and tissue stiffness is visualized through an elastogram.