Broadband attenuation and nonlinear propagation in biological fluids: An experimental facility and measurements

The design and construction of a versatile experimental facility for making measurements of the frequency-dependence of attenuation coefficient (over the range 1 MHz to 25 MHz) and nonlinear propagation in samples of biological fluids is described. The main feature of the facility is the ability to perform all of the measurements on the same sample of fluid within a short period of time and under temperature control. In particular, the facility allows the axial development of nonlinear waveform distortion to be measured with a wideband bilaminar polyvinylidene difluoride membrane hydrophone to study nonlinear propagation in biological fluids. The system uses a variable length bellows to contain the fluid, with transparent Mylar end-windows to couple the acoustic field into the fluid. Example results for the frequency-dependence of attenuation of Dow Corning 200/350 silicone fluid, used as a standard fluid, are presented and shown to be in good agreement with alternative measurements. Measurements of finite amplitude propagation in amniotic fluid, urine and 4.5% human albumin solutions at physiological temperature (37 °C) are presented and compared with theoretical predictions using existing models. The measurements were made using a 2.25-MHz single-element transducer coupled to a polymethyl methacrylate lens with a focal amplitude gain of 12 in water. The transducer was driven with an eight-cycle tone burst at source pressures up to 0.137 MPa. In general, given an accurate knowledge of the medium parameters and source conditions, the agreement with theoretical prediction is good for the first five harmonics

Numerical modeling of harmonic imaging and pulse inversion fields

Tissue Harmonic Imaging (THI) and Pulse Inversion (PI) Harmonic Imaging exploit the harmonics generated as a result of nonlinear propagation through tissue to improve the performance of imaging systems. A 3D finite difference model, that solves the KZK equation in the frequency domain, is used to investigate the finite amplitude fields produced by rectangular transducers driven with short pulses and their inverses, in water and homogeneous tissue. This enables the characteristic of the fields and the effective PI field to be calculated. The suppression of the fundamental field in PI is monitored, and the suppression of side lobes and a reduction in the effective beamwidth for each field are calculated. In addition, the differences between the pulse and inverse pulse spectra resulting from the use of very short pulses are noted, and the differences in the location of the fundamental and second harmonic spectral peaks observed

Comparison of finite element and heated disc models of tissue heating by ultrasound

This paper compares different techniques used to model the heating caused by ultrasound (US) in a phantom containing a layer of bone mimic covered by agar gel. Results from finite element (FE) models are compared with those from two techniques based on the point-source solution to the bioheat transfer equation (BHTE): one in which the bone mimic is considered to be an absorbing disc of infinitesimal thickness and the other in which the region through which the US travels is considered to be a volume heat source. The FE results are also compared with experimental measurements. The results from the models differed by up to 40% compared with those from the FE model. Furthermore, for the intensity distribution considered, which corresponds to that in the focal zone of a single-element transducer, the top hat distribution predicts a temperature rise 1.8 times greater than that for a more realistic one based on measured values

The cooling effect of liquid flow on the focussed ultrasound-induced heating in a simulated foetal brain

There is a need to investigate the thermal effects of diagnostic ultrasound (US) to assist the development of appropriate safety guidelines for obstetric use. The cooling effect of a single liquid flow channel was measured in a model of human foetal brain and skull bone heated by a focussed beam of simulated pulsed spectral Doppler US. Insonation conditions were 5.7 s pulses, repeated at 8 kHz from a focussed transducer operating with a centre frequency of 3.5 MHz, producing a beam of ?6 dB diameter of 3.1 mm at the focus and power outputs of up to 255 ± 5 mW. Brain perfusion was simulated by allowing distilled water to flow at various rates in a 2 mm diameter wall-less channel in the brain soft tissue phantom material. This study established that the cooling effect of the flowing water; 1. was independent of the acoustic source power, 2. was more effective close to the flow channel, for example, there was a marked cooling at a distance of 1 mm and negligible cooling at a distance of 3 mm from the channel; and 3. initially increased at low flow rates, but further increase above normal perfusion had very little effect

The peak rarefactional pressure generated by medical ultrasound systems in water and tissue: a numerical study

Current estimates of in-situ exposure are based on de-rating field measurements made in waterto allow for the attenuation of tissue, using a specific attenuation coefficient of 0.3 dB cm-1 MHz-1. This process assumes that the propagation process is linear. However for medical ultrasound systems nonlinear propagation effects can be significant. In order to explore improved methods of characterising finite amplitude fields an extensive programme of modelling has been performed with the aim of investigating the relationship between finite amplitude fields in tissue and water. This utilised a finite difference solution to the KZK equation to model 35 fields using starting conditions typical of medical ultrasound arrays. In each case the field was modelled in water and then in homogeneous tissue, assuming the specific attenuation coefficient of 0.3 dB cm-1 MHz-1. This enabled the de-rated peak rarefactional acoustic pressure (pr,α) at specific locations, derived from water predictions, to be compared with the corresponding predictions for the peak rarefactional pressure pr in tissue. The results show that a nonlinear propagation parameter and measurement range can be used to give a reasonably good indication of the extent to which pr,α underestimates pr in tissue. Corresponding results for the pulse intensity integral do not demonstrate such a simple relationship. (Work supportedby EPSRC under grant GR/R43747.