Thermally induced changes in the elastic properties of prostatic tissue: a preliminary study on <i>ex vivo</i> bovine samples

<i>Objective.</i>To characterise the thermally induced changes in the elastic properties of prostatic tissue and investigate their correlation with thermal dose.<i>Approach.</i><i>Ex vivo</i>bovine prostate samples were subjected to three heating protocols-constant-rate heating, steady-state temperature, and steady-state temperature followed by rapid cooling. Acoustic Radiation Force-based Shear Wave Elastography was used to monitor shear wave speed (SWS), and the results were interpreted in relation to thermal dose using the cumulative equivalent minutes at 43 ^∘C (CEM43) scale.<i>Main results.</i>Thermal exposure consistently resulted in increased SWS, with increments of up to five-fold observed at temperatures above 60 ^∘C in the constant-rate heating tests. Irreversible changes were also observed in the steady-state temperature test followed by rapid cooling even at thermal exposures as low as 20 CEM43 min.<i>Significance.</i>These findings support the potential of elastography to delineate thermally ablated regions in prostate cancer treatment and encourages further investigation on the potential of SWS to serve as a biomarker of thermal dose.