SOFT TISSUE ELASTICITY DISTRIBUTION MEASUREMENT METHOD AND SOFT TISSUE ELASTICITY DISTRIBUTION MEASUREMENT DEVICE

摘要

Disclosed is a device that finds the distribution of elasticity of soft tissue in the thickness direction in a simple manner. The device comprises an intake chamber that takes soft tissue in via an intake aperture that is opened thereupon, the intake aperture further comprising a shape that expands in the width dimension from one end to the other; a degree of deformation measurement means that measures the degree of intake deformation of the soft tissue along a virtual line from one end to the other end of the intake aperture; and a computer that receives the degree of deformation at the intake that is measured by the degree of deformation measurement means; wherein the computer finds an approximate equation from numerical functions relating to the position and the degree of intake deformation upon the virtual line on the basis of the degree of intake deformation that is measured by the degree of deformation measurement means within a finite element model of the soft tissue, and finds the distribution of elasticity of the soft tissue from the obverse surface to the depths thereof by substituting the parameters of the approximate equation into the estimate equation that is derived from a postulate that the deformation upon the virtual line reflects elasticity distribution parameters.