Tissue Characterization by Low-Frequency Acoustic Waves Generated by a Single High-Frequency Focused Ultrasound Beam.

The mechanical properties of biological tissues are fingerprints of certain pathologic processes. Ultrasound systems have been used as a non-invasive technique to both induce kilohertz-frequency mechanical vibrations and detect waves resulting from interactions with biological structures. However, existing methodologies to produce kilohertz-frequency mechanical vibrations using ultrasound require the use of variable-frequency, dual-frequency and high-power systems. Here, we propose and demonstrate the use of bursts of megahertz- frequency acoustic radiation to observe kilohertz-frequency mechanical responses in biological tissues. Femoral bones were obtained from 10 healthy mice and 10 mice in which osteoporosis had been induced. The bones' porosity, trabecular number, trabecular spacing, connectivity and connectivity density were determined using micro-computed tomography (µCT). The samples were irradiated with short, focused acoustic radiation pulses (f = 3.1 MHz, t = 15 µs), and the low-frequency acoustic response (1-100 kHz) was acquired using a dedicated hydrophone. A strong correlation between the spectral maps of the acquired signals and the µCT data was found. In a subsequent evaluation, soft tissue stiffness measurements were performed with a gel wax-based tissue-mimicking phantom containing three spherical inclusions of the same type of gel but different densities and Young's moduli, yet with approximately the same echogenicity. Conventional B-mode ultrasound was unable to image the inclusions, while the novel technique proposed here showed good image contrast.

Computing the acoustic radiation force exerted on a sphere using the translational addition theorem.

In this paper, the translational addition theorem for spherical functions is employed to calculate the acoustic radiation force produced by an arbitrary shaped beam on a sphere arbitrarily suspended in an inviscid fluid. The procedure is also based on the partial-wave expansion method, which depends on the beam-shape and scattering coefficients. Given a set of beam-shape coefficients (BSCs) for an acoustic beam relative to a reference frame, the translational addition theorem can be used to obtain the BSCs relative to the sphere positioned anywhere in the medium. The scattering coefficients are obtained from the acoustic boundary conditions across the sphere's surface. The method based on the addition theorem is particularly useful to avoid quadrature schemes to obtain the BSCs. We use it to compute the acoustic radiation force exerted by a spherically focused beam (in the paraxial approximation) on a silicone-oil droplet (compressible fluid sphere). The analysis is carried out in the Rayleigh (i.e., the particle diameter is much smaller than the wavelength) and Mie (i.e., the particle diameter is of the order of the wavelength or larger) scattering regimes. The obtained results show that the paraxial focused beam can only trap particles in the Rayleigh scattering regime.

Designing single-beam multitrapping acoustical tweezers.

The concept of a single-beam acoustical tweezer device which can simultaneously trap microparticles at different points is proposed and demonstrated through computational simulations. The device employs an ultrasound beam produced by a circular focused transducer operating at 1 MHz in water medium. The ultrasound beam exerts a radiation force that may tweeze suspended microparticles in the medium. Simulations show that the acoustical tweezer can simultaneously trap microparticles in the pre-focal zone along the beam axis, i.e. between the transducer surface and its geometric focus. As acoustical tweezers are fast becoming a key instrument in microparticle handling, the development of acoustic multitrapping concept may turn into a useful tool in engineering these devices.

Evaluation of vibro-acoustography techniques to map absorbed dose distribution in irradiated phantoms.

This work presents Vibro-acoustography (VA) as a tool to visualize absorbed dose distributions in a polymer gel dosimeter. VA uses the radiation force of focused ultrasound to vibrate a small region of the sample. Different modalities of VA were used to investigate the feasibility of this technique to evaluate dose distribution in irradiated 'MAGIC' polymer gel. A phantom was designed using this polymer with 2% w/w added glass microspheres having an average diameter range between 40-75 microm. The phantom was irradiated using conventional 10 MeV X-rays from a linear accelerator at a distance of 100 cm. An absorbed dose of 50 gray was delivered to the gel. To study the phenomena of dose distribution, continuous wave (CW), toneburst and multifrequency VA were applied to the phantom. Images were generated from the phase and magnitude of the emitted sound from the irradiated area. The comparative accuracy of the different VA results were validated using transverse relaxation rate (R2) image analysis by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and a treatment planning system. A contour map of R2 was registered with the transverse CW images, obtained with the focal point on the top surface, and a good correlation was found between the images. The axial profile of irradiated inclusion from the toneburst VA image obtained with excitation frequency of 75 kHz showed the best accuracy compared to other VA modalities. The results show that VA imaging has potential to visualize dose distribution in a polymer gel dosimeter.