Elastography Applications

Elastography is a non-invasive medical imaging technique that detects tumors based on their stiffness (elasticity) compared to normal tissue. The most common type of elastography uses ultrasonic imaging to compare the shapes of the tissue under examination before and after it is compressed slightly. Cancerous tumors tend to be many times stiffer than normal tissue which gives under compression. Breast cancer is the leading cause of women mortality and cancer-related morbidity across the world. This disease alone is accountable for about a third of all the cancers in females. An image in which different degrees of stiffness show as different shades of light and dark is called an elastogram. Many tumors, including breast tumors, show up better in an elastogram than in conventional ultrasonic images. Elastography has been studied in the laboratory since the mid-1990s. It is now being considered as a possible substitute for a breast biopsy, which is an invasive surgical procedure that removes a sample of tissue for pathological examination. The most common type of elastography uses ultrasonic imaging to compare the shapes of the tissue under examination before and after it is compressed slightly. It has been applied to various organs and tissues, e.g as an adjunct tool to conventional US and X-ray mammography in the detection and characterization of the breast masses. Many clinicians use finger palpation to detect abnormally hard tissues by taking advantage of the fact that tissue stiffness is correlated with pathological changes, e.g malignant nodules are stiffer than benign nodules and normal tissues. Ultrasound (US) elastography tries to replace finger palpation .The researcher recommend that procedure should be used in King Khalid hospital and Najran university hospital in near future because it provide estimation of tissue stiffness and provide an effective comprehensive , affordable screening and early diagnosis of breast cancer to allow patients the best chance for a cure and life.