Ultrasound system and method for guided shear wave elastography of anisotropic tissue

An ultrasound imaging system for shear wave imaging comprising:

• a probe configured to acquire ultrasound echo signals for producing shear wave images of anisotropic tissue of a subject, wherein the probe is configured to be coupled to a position tracking system for tracking a position of the probe with respect to the subject;
• a processor in communication with the probe and configured to receive position tracking data from the position tracking system, wherein the processor further is configured to:
• define at least one target plane in the anisotropic tissue at an a first angle with respect to and using a reference plane of the anisotropic tissue;
• determine a second angle between a position of an imaging plane of the probe as indicated by the position tracking data and the reference plane;
• define a first transformation between a position of the at least one target plane and the reference plane based, at least in part, on the first angle;
• define a second transformation between the position of the image plane and the reference plane based, at least in part, on the second angle;
• determine a difference between the position of the image plane and the position of the target plane using the first and second transformations;
• and
• provide a visual indicator of the difference on a display of the ultrasound system, wherein the processor is configured to dynamically update the visual indicator responsive to a change in the position of the imaging plane with respect to the target plane.