For shear wave imaging with ultrasound, a direction of the ARFI beam is selected based on tissue information, such as being perpendicular to an orientation of tissue or other than perpendicular to a face of the transducer array. As a result, the estimated shear wave velocity measured perpendicular to the ARFI beam may be closer to actual shear wave velocity. Alternatively or additionally, one or more vectors of propagation of the shear wave are determined and displayed to the user, allowing the user to visualize an extent of anisotropy of the tissue to judge impact on the shear wave velocity estimation.
