Simulation and measurement of ultrasonic surface wave propagation for nondestructive assessment of tissue-engineered construction

The physical properties of tissue-engineered scaffolds are strongly related with biocompatibility as well as cell behaviors and functions. Conventional methods including rheological measurement have been mostly destructive and hardly available for continuous monitoring of the viscoelastic changes for different time points. In this study, surface wave measurement were used for non-destructive assessment of the viscoelastic properties of the tissue-engineered scaffolds. Specifically, the propagation of surface waves was simulated using the K-wave toolbox in Matlab to optimize beamforming parameters. In addition, surface wave velocity and shear modulus were calculated in gelatin based tissue mimicking phantoms and phototuning alginate gels. These were then compared with reference values obtained with a rheometer. The surface wave measurement using ultrafast ultrasound imaging offers the possibility of a nondestructive and longitudinal assessment of tissue-engineered scaffolds. © 2017 The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers.