An Inverse Finite Element Method for Estimating Elastic Coefficients of Anisotropic and Inhomogeneous Materials

Elastography, the imaging of soft tissues on the basis of elastic modulus has been actively studied in the recent years. Since cancerous tissue is often stiffer than normal tissue [1] its response to mechanical stimuli is considerably different. Hence information about the mechanical properties of cancers and tumors can be potentially extracted from imaging. This inverse problem of estimating mechanical properties from imaging and displacement data holds promise for applications in medical diagnostics.