A method and system for analyzing stiffness in a volume of tissue, the method including: emitting acoustic waveforms toward the volume of tissue with an array of ultrasound transmitters; detecting, with an array of ultrasound receivers, a set of acoustic signals derived from acoustic waveforms transmitted through the volume of tissue; generating, from the set of acoustic signals, a sound speed map and an acoustic attenuation map of a region of the volume of tissue, generating a stiffness map derived from combination of a set of sound speed parameter values of the sound speed map and a corresponding set of acoustic attenuation parameter values of the acoustic attenuation map, the stiffness map representing the distribution of the stiffness parameter across the region; and at a display in communication with the computer processor, rendering a stiffness image of the volume of tissue, based upon the stiffness map.