A Method Leveraging Morphology for Non-Destructive In Situ Mechanical Characterization of Heterogeneous Biological Tissue

A method for determining material properties of a plurality of tissues in a subject includes receiving a first sequence of cardiovascular images of a region of interest of the subject and a first set of pressure data associated with the first sequence of cardiovascular images and receiving a second sequence of cardiovascular images of the region of interest of the subject and a second set of pressure data associated
with the second sequence of cardiovascular images. The method can further include transforming, using a processor, the first sequence of cardiovascular images to a first three dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) mesh with heterogeneous material distribution, transforming, using the processor, the second sequence of cardiovascular images to a second 3D FE mesh with heterogeneous material distribution, and performing, using the processor, an iterative optimization process on the first and second 3D FE meshes to determine one or more material properties of at least one of the plurality of tissues.