An ultrasound imaging system for shear wave imaging comprising: an ultrasound transducer configured to acquire echoes responsive to ultrasound pulses transmitted toward a target tissue; a beamformer configured to: transmit, from the ultrasound transducer, tracking pulses in response to a push pulse, wherein the push pulse generates a shear wave in the target tissue and the tracking pulses are spatially planned to intersect the shear wave at one or more locales; and receive, from the ultrasound transducer, echo signals where the tracking pulses intersected the shear wave; and a processor in communication with the beamformer and configured to store tracking echo data generated from the received echo signals, characterized in the processor is further configured to: in response to the tracking echo data, determine a displacement amplitude of the shear wave propagating at two or more laterally-spaced points through the target tissue; in response to determining the displacement amplitudes, determine an attenuation of the displacement amplitudes; and based on the determined attenuation of the displacement amplitudes, generate a qualitative tissue elasticity map of the target tissue by comparing the determined attenuation of the displacement amplitudes to a reference attenuation of the displacement amplitudes. an ultrasound transducer configured to acquire echoes responsive to ultrasound pulses transmitted toward a target tissue; a beamformer configured to: transmit, from the ultrasound transducer, tracking pulses in response to a push pulse, wherein the push pulse generates a shear wave in the target tissue and the tracking pulses are spatially planned to intersect the shear wave at one or more locales; and receive, from the ultrasound transducer, echo signals where the tracking pulses intersected the shear wave; and a processor in communication with the beamformer and configured to store tracking echo data generated from the received echo signals, characterized in the processor is further configured to: in response to the tracking echo data, determine a displacement amplitude of the shear wave propagating at two or more laterally-spaced points through the target tissue; in response to determining the displacement amplitudes, determine an attenuation of the displacement amplitudes; and based on the determined attenuation of the displacement amplitudes, generate a qualitative tissue elasticity map of the target tissue by comparing the determined attenuation of the displacement amplitudes to a reference attenuation of the displacement amplitudes. transmit, from the ultrasound transducer, tracking pulses in response to a push pulse, wherein the push pulse generates a shear wave in the target tissue and the tracking pulses are spatially planned to intersect the shear wave at one or more locales; and receive, from the ultrasound transducer, echo signals where the tracking pulses intersected the shear wave; and a processor in communication with the beamformer and configured to store tracking echo data generated from the received echo signals, characterized in the processor is further configured to: in response to the tracking echo data, determine a displacement amplitude of the shear wave propagating at two or more laterally-spaced points through the target tissue; in response to determining the displacement amplitudes, determine an attenuation of the displacement amplitudes; and based on the determined attenuation of the displacement amplitudes, generate a qualitative tissue elasticity map of the target tissue by comparing the determined attenuation of the displacement amplitudes to a reference attenuation of the displacement amplitudes. in response to the tracking echo data, determine a displacement amplitude of the shear wave propagating at two or more laterally-spaced points through the target tissue; in response to determining the displacement amplitudes, determine an attenuation of the displacement amplitudes; and based on the determined attenuation of the displacement amplitudes, generate a qualitative tissue elasticity map of the target tissue by comparing the determined attenuation of the displacement amplitudes to a reference attenuation of the displacement amplitudes.