Transformation seismology: composite soil lenses for steering surface elastic Rayleigh waves.

Metamaterials are artificially structured media that exibit properties beyond those usually encountered in nature. Typically they are developed for electromagnetic waves at millimetric down to nanometric scales, or for acoustics, at centimeter scales. By applying ideas from transformation optics we can steer Rayleigh-surface waves that are solutions of the vector Navier equations of elastodynamics. As a paradigm of the conformal geophysics that we are creating, we design a square arrangement of Luneburg lenses to reroute Rayleigh waves around a building with the dual aim of protection and minimizing the effect on the wavefront (cloaking). To show that this is practically realisable we deliberately choose to use material parameters readily available and this metalens consists of a composite soil structured with buried pillars made of softer material. The regular lattice of inclusions is homogenized to give an effective material with a radially varying velocity profile and hence varying the refractive index of the lens. We develop the theory and then use full 3D numerical simulations to conclusively demonstrate, at frequencies of seismological relevance 3–10 Hz, and for low-speed sedimentary soil (v(s): 300–500 m/s), that the vibration of a structure is reduced by up to 6 dB at its resonance frequency

Optical Modeling of Schematic Eyes and the Ophthalmic Applications

The objectives of this dissertation are to advance and broaden the traditional average eye modeling technique by two extensions: 1) population-based and personalized eye modeling for both normal and diseased conditions, and 2) demonstration of applications of this pioneering eye modeling.The first type of representative eye modeling can be established using traditional eye modeling techniques with statistical biometric information of the targeted population. Ocular biometry parameters can be mathematically assigned according to the distribution functions and correlations between parameters. For example, the axial dimension of the eye relates to age, gender, and body height factors. With the investigation results from the studies of different population groups, population-based eye modeling can be established. The second type of eye model includes the optical components of the detailed corneal structure. Many of these structures, especially the corneal topography and wavefront aberration, are measured directly from the human eye. Therefore, the personalized eye models render the exact clinical measure and optical performance of the eye. In a sense, the whole eye, other than the identity of the individual, is quantified and stored in digital form for unlimited use for future research and industrial applications. The presentation of this dissertation is: Chapter 1 describes the background of the research in this area, the introduction of eye anatomy, and the motivation of this dissertation work. In Chapter 2, a comprehensive review of the contemporary techniques of measuring ocular parameters is presented and is followed by the review of literature and then the statistical analysis of the ocular biometry parameters. The goal of this chapter is to build a statistical base for population-based schematic eye modeling research. The analysis includes the investigation of the correlations between ocular parameters and ocular refraction, subject age, gender, ethnicity, and accommodation conditions. In Chapter 3, the tools and methods that are used in our optical eye modeling are introduced. The operation of the optical program ZEMAX is discussed. The detail of the optical eye modeling procedure and method of optical optimization, which is utilized to reproduce desired clinical measurement results, are described. The validation functions, which will be used to evaluate the optimization results, are also addressed. Chapter 4 includes the discussion of the population-based eye modeling and the personalized eye modeling. With the statistical information and the clinical measurements presented in Chapter 2 and the computation method described in Chapter 3, the two types of eye modeling technologies are demonstrated. The procedure, difficulty, and validation of eye modeling are included. The considerations of optical opacities, irregular optical surface, multiple reflection, scattering, and tear film breakup effects are discussed and the possible solutions in ZEMAX are suggested. Chapter 5 presents eye modeling applications of the simulations of ophthalmic instrument measurements. The demonstrated simulation results are retinoscopy and photorefraction. The simulation includes both normal eye model and diseased eye model. The close conformity between the simulation results with the actual clinical measurements further validates the eye modeling technique. The ophthalmic simulation application provides the potential for medical training and instrument development. The summary of the dissertation is given in Chapter 6

Limited Angle Ultrasound Tomography of the Compressed Breast

X-ray mammography is widely accepted as the clinical standard for breast cancer screening and diagnosis. However, reflection mode ultrasound has been known to outperform x-ray in screening performance in dense breasts. With newer modes of ultrasound, acoustic properties of breast tissue, such as the speed of sound and attenuation coefficient distributions, can be extracted from captured ultrasound signals and used to characterize breast tissue types and contribute to detection and diagnosis of malignancy. The same is possibly true for optical absorption via photoacoustic imaging. Recently, we have developed a dual-sided ultrasound scanner that can be integrated with existing x-ray mammographic systems and acquire images in the mammographic view and compression. Transmission imaging for speed of sound and attenuation coefficient in this geometry is termed limited angle tomography, as the beams at frequencies yielding high resolution cannot transit the long axis of the compressed breast. This approach, ideally, should facilitate the co-registration and comparisons between images from three modalities discussed here (x-ray, ultrasound and photoacoustic) and increase diagnostic detection confidence. However, potential limitations inherent in limited angle tomography have received minimal exploration up to this study, and existing imaging techniques developed for this approach are based on overly optimistic assumptions that hinder achievement of the desired image quality. This investigation of these problems should contribute valuable information to the validation and translation of the mammographically-configured, dual-sided ultrasound, or ultrasound and photoacoustic, scanner to the clinic. This dissertation first aims to extensively identify possible sources of error resulting from imaging in the limited angle tomography approach. Simulation findings mapping parametric conditions reveal that image artifacts arising in reflection mode (B-mode) can be modulated or mitigated by ultrasound gels with adequate acoustic properties. In addition, sound speed imaging was performed determining the level of significance for several key sources of error. Results suggest that imaging in transmission mode is the most sensitive to transducer misplacement in the signal propagation direction. This misplacement, however, could be minimized easily by routinely calibrating transducer positions. Next, this dissertation aims to advance speed of sound, attenuation, and photoacoustic image reconstruction algorithms for the limited angle tomography approach. This was done by utilizing both structural information of the imaged objects/tissues by means of the corresponding reflection mode images taken from the same imaging location, and a full acoustic modeling framework to account for complex acoustic interactions within the field of view. We have shown through simulations that both a priori information from reflection mode images and full acoustic modeling contribute to a noticeable improvement in the reconstructed images. Work done throughout the course of this dissertation should provide a foundation and insight necessary for improvements upon the existing dual-sided ultrasound scanner towards breast imaging in the clinic.PHDBiomedical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143944/1/rungroj_1.pd

New methods for deep tissue imaging

Microscopes play vital role biological science and medicine. For single photon microscopies, the scattering of photons makes regions of interest located a few hundred microns beneath the surface inaccessible. Multi-photon microscopes are widely used for minimally invasive in vivo brain imaging due to their increased imaging depth. However, multi-photon microscopes are hampered by limited dynamic range, preventing weak sample features from being detected in the presence of strong features, or preventing the capture of unpredictable bursts in sample strength. In the first part of the thesis, I present a solution to vastly improve the dynamic range of a multi-photon microscope while limiting potential photodamage. Benefits are shown in both structural and in-vivo functional mouse brain imaging applications. In the second section of the thesis work, I explore a completely different approach towards deep tissue imaging by changing the type of radiation from light to ultrasound. Inspired by an optical phase contrast technique invented in the lab, I developed an unprecedented ultrasound imaging system that can visualize the ultrasound phase contrast in the sample. The ultrasound phase contrast technique is able to visualize local sound speed variations instead of local reflectivity. Compared with existing sound speed tomography systems, our technique eliminates the cumbersome sound speed reconstruction process. The research work in this section contains three parts. In the first part, we designed a low-cost single element scanning system as proof of concept. In the second part, we implemented the ultrasound phase contrast imaging system on a commercial linear phased transducer array and an imaging apparatus designed for samples with finite thickness. In the third part, we studied the feasibility of ultrasound phase contrast imaging in arbitrarily thick tissue. We presented a complete workflow of theoretical study, simulation, prototyping and experimental testing for all three parts.2020-02-28T00:00:00

Efficient Light and Sound Propagation in Refractive Media with Analytic Ray Curve Tracer

Refractive media is ubiquitous in the natural world, and light and sound propagation in refractive media leads to characteristic visual and acoustic phenomena. Those phenomena are critical for engineering applications to simulate with high accuracy requirements, and they can add to the perceived realism and sense of immersion for training and entertainment applications. Existing methods can be roughly divided into two categories with regard to their handling of propagation in refractive media; first category of methods makes simplifying assumption about the media or entirely excludes the consideration of refraction in order to achieve efficient propagation, while the second category of methods accommodates refraction but remains computationally expensive. In this dissertation, we present algorithms that achieve efficient and scalable propagation simulation of light and sound in refractive media, handling fully general media and scene configurations. Our approaches are based on ray tracing, which traditionally assumes homogeneous media and rectilinear rays. We replace the rectilinear rays with analytic ray curves as tracing primitives, which represent closed-form trajectory solutions based on assumptions of a locally constant media gradient. For general media profiles, the media can be spatially decomposed into explicit or implicit cells, within which the media gradient can be assumed constant, leading to an analytic ray path within that cell. Ray traversal of the media can therefore proceed in segments of ray curves. The first source of speedup comes from the fact that for smooth media, a locally constant media gradient assumption tends to stay valid for a larger area than the assumption of a locally constant media property. The second source of speedup is the constant-cost intersection computation of the analytic ray curves with planar surfaces. The third source of speedup comes from making the size of each cell and therefore each ray curve segment adaptive to the magnitude of media gradient. Interactions with boundary surfaces in the scene can be efficiently handled within this framework in two alternative approaches. For static scenes, boundary surfaces can be embedded into the explicit mesh of tetrahedral cells, and the mesh can be traversed and the embedded surfaces intersected with by the analytic ray curve in a unified manner. For dynamic scenes, implicit cells are used for media traversal, and boundary surface intersections can be handled separately by constructing hierarchical acceleration structures adapted from rectilinear ray tracer. The efficient handling of boundary surfaces is the fourth source of speedup of our propagation path computation. We demonstrate over two orders-of-magnitude performance improvement of our analytic ray tracing algorithms over prior methods for refractive light and sound propagation. We additionally present a complete sound-propagation simulation solution that matches the path computation efficiency achieved by the ray curve tracer. We develop efficient pressure computation algorithm based on analytic evaluations and combine our algorithm with the Gaussian beam for fast acoustic field computation. We validate the accuracy of the simulation results on published benchmarks, and we show the application of our algorithms on complex and general three-dimensional outdoor scenes. Our algorithms enable simulation scenarios that are simply not feasible with existing methods, and they have the potential of being extended and complementing other propagation methods for capability beyond handling refractive media.Doctor of Philosoph

Refraction-corrected ray-based inversion for three-dimensional ultrasound tomography of the breast

Ultrasound tomography (UST) has seen a revival of interest in the past decade, especially for breast imaging, due to improvements in both ultrasound and computing hardware. In particular, three-dimensional UST, a fully tomographic method in which the medium to be imaged is surrounded by ultrasound transducers, has become feasible. This has led to renewed attention on UST image reconstruction algorithms. In this paper, a comprehensive derivation and study of a robust framework for large-scale bent-ray UST in 3D for a hemispherical detector array is presented. Two ray

Infrasound as upper atmospheric monitor

Understanding and specification of the higher altitudes of the atmosphere with global coverage over all local times is hampered by the challenges of obtaining direct measurements in the upper atmosphere. Methods to measure the properties of the atmosphere above the stratopause is an active area of scientific research. In this thesis, we revisit the use of infrasound as a passive remote sensing technique for the upper atmosphere. Signals from the Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador are used to investigate the behavior of the upper atmosphere. Depending on the atmospheric conditions, stratospheric, mesospheric and thermospheric arrivals are observed during intervals of explosive volcanic activity. It is found that the travel times and dominant frequencies of the thermospheric arrivals exhibit a coherent variability with periods equal to those of the tidal harmonics. Theoretical predictions using atmospheric specifications show that the stratospheric arrivals are predicted within 1% of the observed value. For thermospheric arrivals, this error can be as high as 10%. The error in thermospheric celerities is found to be in accord with the typical uncertainty in upper atmospheric winds. Given the observed response of the infrasound celerities to upper atmospheric tidal variability, it is suggested that infrasound observations may be used as an additional source of information to constrain the atmospheric specifications in the upper atmosphere. We present corrected wind profiles that have been obtained by minimizing misfits in traveltime and source location using a Bayesian statistics grid search algorithm. Also, a Levenberg-Marquardt search algorithm is developed. Additionally, a new numerical method has been developed to solve the problem of infrasound propagation in a stratified medium with (high Mach number) background flow, based on a modal expansion. The underlying mathematics is by no means new and has been earlier described. This solution goes beyond the effective sound speed approximation, which is typically used in infrasound propagation modeling for computational efficiency reasons. Using the wide-angle high Mach number modal solution, it is shown that traveltimes and shadow zones are under predicted using the effective sound speed approximation, with increasing grazing angle and Mach number

High Frequency Ultrasonic Wave Propagation in Anisotropic Materials

The influence of highly regular, anisotropic, microstructured materials on high frequency ultrasonic wave propagation was investigated in this work. Microstructure, often only treated as a source of scattering, significantly influences high frequency ultrasonic waves, resulting in unexpected guided wave modes. Tissues, such as skin or muscle, are treated as homogeneous by current medical ultrasound systems, but actually consist of highly anisotropic micron-sized fibres. As these systems increase towards 100 MHz, these fibres will significantly influence propagating waves leading to guided wave modes. The effect of these modes on image quality must be considered. However, before studies can be undertaken on fibrous tissues, wave propagation in more ideal structures must be first understood. After the construction of a suitable high frequency ultrasound experimental system, finite element modelling and experimental characterisation of high frequency (20-200 MHz) ultrasonic waves in ideal, collinear, nanostructured alumina was carried out. These results revealed interesting waveguiding phenomena, and also identified the potential and significant advantages of using a microstructured material as an alternative acoustic matching layer in ultrasonic transducer design. Tailorable acoustic impedances were achieved from 4-17 MRayl, covering the impedance range of 7-12 MRayl most commonly required by transducer matching layers. Attenuation coefficients as low as 3.5 dBmm-1 were measured at 100 MHz, which is excellent when compared with 500 dBmm-1 that was measured for a state of the art loaded epoxy matching layer at the same frequency. Reception of ultrasound without the restriction of critical angles was also achieved, and no dispersion was observed in these structures (unlike current matching layers) until at least 200 MHz. In addition, to make a significant step forward towards high frequency tissue characterisation, novel microstructured poly(vinyl alcohol) tissue-mimicking phantoms were also developed. These phantoms possessed acoustic and microstructural properties representative of fibrous tissues, much more realistic than currently used homogeneous phantoms. The attenuation coefficient measured along the direction of PVA alignment in an example phantom was 8 dBmm-1 at 30 MHz, in excellent agreement with healthy human myocardium. This method will allow the fabrication of more realistic and repeatable phantoms for future high frequency tissue characterisation studies

High Frequency Ultrasonic Wave Propagation in Anisotropic Materials

The influence of highly regular, anisotropic, microstructured materials on high frequency ultrasonic wave propagation was investigated in this work. Microstructure, often only treated as a source of scattering, significantly influences high frequency ultrasonic waves, resulting in unexpected guided wave modes. Tissues, such as skin or muscle, are treated as homogeneous by current medical ultrasound systems, but actually consist of highly anisotropic micron-sized fibres. As these systems increase towards 100 MHz, these fibres will significantly influence propagating waves leading to guided wave modes. The effect of these modes on image quality must be considered. However, before studies can be undertaken on fibrous tissues, wave propagation in more ideal structures must be first understood. After the construction of a suitable high frequency ultrasound experimental system, finite element modelling and experimental characterisation of high frequency (20-200 MHz) ultrasonic waves in ideal, collinear, nanostructured alumina was carried out. These results revealed interesting waveguiding phenomena, and also identified the potential and significant advantages of using a microstructured material as an alternative acoustic matching layer in ultrasonic transducer design. Tailorable acoustic impedances were achieved from 4-17 MRayl, covering the impedance range of 7-12 MRayl most commonly required by transducer matching layers. Attenuation coefficients as low as 3.5 dBmm-1 were measured at 100 MHz, which is excellent when compared with 500 dBmm-1 that was measured for a state of the art loaded epoxy matching layer at the same frequency. Reception of ultrasound without the restriction of critical angles was also achieved, and no dispersion was observed in these structures (unlike current matching layers) until at least 200 MHz. In addition, to make a significant step forward towards high frequency tissue characterisation, novel microstructured poly(vinyl alcohol) tissue-mimicking phantoms were also developed. These phantoms possessed acoustic and microstructural properties representative of fibrous tissues, much more realistic than currently used homogeneous phantoms. The attenuation coefficient measured along the direction of PVA alignment in an example phantom was 8 dBmm-1 at 30 MHz, in excellent agreement with healthy human myocardium. This method will allow the fabrication of more realistic and repeatable phantoms for future high frequency tissue characterisation studies

Lamb: a simulation tool for air-coupled lamb wave based ultrasonic NDE systems

La técnica de las ondas de Lamb acopladas por aire representa un importante avance en el área de los Ensayos No Destructivos (END) de materiales laminares.Sin embargo la compleja naturaleza de las vibraciones mecánicas encontradas en acústica, hacen que el análisis y el estudio de esta área del conocimiento sea un tema muy complejo. De allí que la posibilidad de contar con una herramienta de simulación de software que permita la evaluación y prueba de diferentes configuraciones de excitación y recepción acústica utilizando la flexibilidad de un modelo de computadora sea de una gran utilidad y ayuda.El objetivo de la presente tesis es proveer al área de los END con un software de simulación gratuito: The LAMB Matlab® toolbox basado en el modelo del software libre de la GNU.El software es capaz de simular el comportamiento de sistemas de END basados en ondas de Lamb acopladas por aire en láminas isótropas simples utilizando transductores tipo array.El programa se basa en un arreglo tipo C-scan de un sistema de END y está compuesto por tres bloques principales: 1) Excitación, 2) Propagación y 3) Recepción.La verificación individual del funcionamiento de dichos módulos se presenta a lo largo de la tesis mediante una serie de comparaciones entre simulaciones y datos experimentales provenientes de diferentes pruebas. Por otro lado, la validación del programa completo se llevo a cabo por medio de experimentos en láminas de cobre y aluminio; utilizando un sistema real de END por ondas de Lamb acopladas en aire mediante arrays cóncavos.La influencia negativa en el desempeño general de dicho sistema de END real basado en este tipo de transductores se comprobó efectivamente mediante el simulador desarrollado. Esto se debió fundamentalmente al efecto de directividad de los sensores individuales en los transductores y a la simetría cóncava de los arrays.Para emular este comportamiento la tesis presenta un modelo geométrico bidimensional simple de un filtro espacial, junto a las simulaciones de un nuevo tipo de array plano propuesto.El programa desarrollado comprobó así mismo la naturaleza coherente de los campos acústicos emitidos en aire por las láminas sujetas a vibraciones de Lamb. Esto se realizó mediante la implementación de un conformador de haz simple de suma y demora; constituyéndose así la etapa inicial de procesamiento de señal del bloque de recepción del programa.El objetivo principal del presente trabajo fue contribuir con un modelo operativo de simulación y prueba de nuevos diseños de arrays e implementación de estrategias de procesado de señal útiles en sistemas de END basados en ondas de Lamb acopladas por aire.Finalmente, si bien el objetivo de la calibración del programa no se pudo conseguir; si se logró efectivamente un notable grado de similitud con un sistema de END real.Air-coupled ultrasonic Lamb waves represent an important advance in Non- Destructive Testing and Evaluation (NDT & NDE) techniques of plate materials and structures. Examples of these advances are the characterization and quality assessment of laminate materials in manufacturing processes, the location of damaged parts in aircrafts and structure monitoring in the aerospace industry.However the rich and complex nature of mechanical vibrations encountered in acoustics make the subject of analysis and study of these systems a very complex task. Therefore a simulation tool that permits the evaluation and testing of different configuration scenarios using the flexibility of a computer model is an invaluable aid and advantage.The objective of this thesis is to provide the field of NDT with free open source software i.e. the LAMB Matlabrtoolbox. The toolbox is capable of simulating the behaviour of Lamb wave based NDE systems for single ideal isotropic laminates using air-coupled ultrasonic arrays. The programme usesa pitch-catch type of a Cscan NDE arrangement and is composed of three integrated sections each individually modelling a feature in the system: 1) Excitation, 2) Propagation, and 3) Reception.For assessment of the individual modules of the toolbox the thesis presents comparisons between each section simulations and the data obtained from different acoustic experiments. The validation of the complete simulator was carried out by evaluation tests on the copper and aluminium plates by use of a real hardware prototype of a Lamb wave based NDE system with aircoupled concave arrays.The negative impact on the performance of the real air-coupled NDE systembased on concave arrays was effectively confirmed by the programme. This was produced by the inherent directivity of the individual sensors as well as their concave arrangement. To emulate this behaviour the thesis introduces a simple two-dimensional geometric model for the inclusion of the spatial filtering effect of the sensors plus a group of simulations for a new proposed air-coupled plane array transducer.The software also verified the spatial coherent nature of the Lamb wave fields emitted by a plate in air. This was demonstrated by the implementation of a delay and sum beamformer to constitute an initial signal processing stage in the reception section