Analysis of Elasticity Index of a Bovine Beef by Quasi Static Elastography

Abstract

The quasi-static elastography is a technique used to generate real-time images of elastic properties of the biological tissue. However, quasi-static mode is operator-dependent, which may generate limitations in its reproducibility and reliability. The purposes of this study were to compare the elasticity index (E) between two different muscle regions (superficial and deep) and two probe positions (longitudinally and transversally to fibers) of a piece of fresh bovine beef and to investigate the intra-rater reliability of the E measurements. E values obtained moderate reliability (CV = 9.64 to 22.17%; ICC = 0.00 to 0.83). E values for region of interest (ROI) deep were higher (i.e., stiffer) than ROI superficial (p < 0.001) for both probe positions. Anisotropic effect was confirmed by higher E values (1.88 ± 0.16) longitudinally (for the deep ROI) and transversally (for the superficial ROI) (E = 0.90 ± 0.06) to the fibers. It is recommended to position the probe longitudinally to the fibers adopting a superficial or deep ROI (≈10 mm of surface).