Novel, sensor-based quantitative cervical elastography: objective quantification of cervical softness

Abstract

Cervical ripening is a necessary physiologic phenomenon that precedes all labor, both term and preterm. Tissue elastography works by applying pressure to tissue and measuring tissue displacement. It is quantified by Young's modulus, a ratio of pressure to displacement. The harder the tissue, the less displacement and the higher the Young's modulus. It is a promising technique for measuring cervical tissue stiffness to predict preterm birth, but to date has been semi-quantitative because the exact force applied to the cervix is difficult quantify. We aimed to develop a novel, fully-quantitative cervical elastography system to objectively quantify cervical tissue stiffness.

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