Bin Huang, Lindsey Carlson Drehfal, Ivan M Rosado-Mendez, Quinton W Guerrero, Mark L Palmeri, Heather A Simmons, Helen Feltovich, Timothy J Hall
Cervical softness is a critical parameter in pregnancy. Clinically, preterm birth is associated with premature cervical softening and postdates birth is associated with delayed cervical softening. In practice, the assessment of softness is subjective, based on digital examination. Fortunately, objective, quantitative techniques to assess softness, and other parameters associated with microstructural cervical change are emerging. One of these is shear wave speed (SWS) estimation. In principle, this allows objective characterization of stiffness because waves travel more slowly in softer tissue...
September 2016: IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control