It is well known that the changes in tissue microstructure associated with certain pathophysiological conditions can influence its mechanical properties. Quantitatively relating the tissue microstructure to the macroscopic mechanical properties could lead to significant improvements in clinical diagnosis, especially when the mechanical properties of the tissue are used as diagnostic indices such as in digital rectal examination and elastography. In this study, a novel method of imposing periodic boundary conditions in non-periodic finite-element meshes is presented. This method is used to develop quantitative relationships between tissue microstructure and its apparent mechanical properties for benign and malignant tissue at various length scales. Finally, the inter-patient variation in the tissue properties is also investigated. Results show significant changes in the statistical distribution of the mechanical properties at different length scales. More importantly the loss of the normal differentiation of glandular structure of cancerous tissue has been demonstrated to lead to changes in mechanical properties and anisotropy. The proposed methodology is not limited to a particular tissue or material and the example used could help better understand how changes in the tissue microstructure caused by pathological conditions influence the mechanical properties, ultimately leading to more sensitive and accurate diagnostic technologies.
Journal of the Royal Society, Interface. 2017 Apr [Epub]
Javier Palacio-Torralba, Daniel W Good, S Alan McNeill, Robert L Reuben, Yuhang Chen
Institute of Mechanical, Process and Energy Engineering, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK., Edinburgh Urological Cancer Group, Division of Pathology Laboratories, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK., Institute of Mechanical, Process and Energy Engineering, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK .