Mechanobiology thread (eg Jude Phillip, stiffness, ultrasound elastography, etc)

[Alex K Chen]

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.02.06.579151v1.full

https://www.mechanobio.info/what-is-mechanobiology/how-are-forces-transduced-in-a-cellular-environment/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHxMDgTJVrI

Quote

 

Sensing wobbles

Like our muscles, the tissues and organs in our body stiffen as we age. With certain diseases, stiffening organs can become more pronounced, signaling a potentially precipitous health decline. Clinicians currently have ways to measure the stiffness of organs such as the kidneys and liver using ultrasound elastography — a technique similar to ultrasound imaging, in which a technician manipulates a handheld probe or wand over the skin. The probe sends sound waves through the body, which cause internal organs to vibrate slightly and send waves out in return. The probe senses an organ’s induced vibrations, and the pattern of the vibrations can be translated into how wobbly or stiff the organ must be.

Ultrasound elastography is typically used in the ICU to monitor patients who have recently undergone an organ transplant. Technicians periodically check in on a patient shortly after surgery to quickly probe the new organ and look for signs of stiffening and potential acute failure or rejection.

 

 

Edited February 26 by InquilineKea