Compression optical coherence elastography (OCE) typically requires a mechanical actuator to impart a controlled uniform strain to the sample. However, for handheld scanning, this adds complexity to the design of the probe and the actuator stroke limits the amount of strain that can be applied. In this work, we present a new volumetric imaging approach that utilizes bidirectional manual compression via the natural motion of the user's hand to induce strain to the sample, realizing compact, actuator‐free, handheld compression OCE. In this way, we are able to demonstrate rapid acquisition of three‐dimensional quantitative microelastography (QME) datasets of a tissue volume (6 × 6 × 1 mm³) in 3.4 seconds. We characterize the elasticity sensitivity of this freehand manual compression approach using a homogeneous silicone phantom and demonstrate comparable performance to a benchtop mounted, actuator‐based approach. In addition, we demonstrate handheld volumetric manual compression‐based QME on a tissue‐mimicking phantom with an embedded stiff inclusion and on freshly excised human breast specimens from both mastectomy and wide local excision (WLE) surgeries. Tissue results are coregistered with postoperative histology, verifying the capability of our approach to measure the elasticity of tissue and to distinguish stiff tumor from surrounding soft benign tissue.

中文翻译：

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手持式基于体积手动压缩的定量显微弹性成像。

压缩光学相干弹性成像（OCE）通常需要机械致动器才能将受控的均匀应变赋予样品。但是，对于手持式扫描，这会增加探针的设计复杂度，并且执行器行程会限制可施加的应变量。在这项工作中，我们提出了一种新的体积成像方法，该方法利用通过用户手的自然运动进行的双向手动压缩来感应样品的应变，从而实现紧凑，无需执行器的手持式压缩OCE。通过这种方式，我们能够演示组织体积（6×6×1 mm ³）的三维定量微弹性成像（QME）数据集的快速获取）在3.4秒内。我们使用均质的硅胶模型来描述这种徒手手动压缩方法的弹性敏感性，并证明其性能可与台式安装的，基于执行器的方法相媲美。此外，我们在具有嵌入式硬包涵体的组织模拟体模上以及在乳房切除术和广泛局部切除（WLE）手术中新鲜切除的人类乳房标本上演示了基于手持式体积压缩的手动QME。组织结果与术后组织学共同记录，验证了我们的方法能够测量组织的弹性并将硬性肿瘤与周围的软性良性组织区分开来的能力。