1,720,962 research outputs found
Broadband attenuation and nonlinear propagation in biological fluids: An experimental facility and measurements
No full textThe 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
The cooling effect of liquid flow on the focussed ultrasound-induced heating in a simulated foetal brain
No full textThere 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
No full textCurrent 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.
Comparison of finite element and heated disc models of tissue heating by ultrasound
No full textThis 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
Numerical modeling of harmonic imaging and pulse inversion fields
No full textTissue 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
Investigation of ultrasonic properties of MAGIC gels for pulse-echo gel dosimetry
No full textUltrasound has been proposed as an alternative 3D method to read out dosimetric gels. The ultrasonic properties of MAGIC gel are investigated in relation to producing a dosimetry system based on a pulse-echo technique. The sound speed, attenuation coefficient, and density of MAGIC gel were measured over a range of temperatures and doses. A nonlinear relationship between ultrasonic attenuation and dose was observed, with the attenuation below 10 Gy being approximately constant. The sound speed was 1550.3 ± 1.5 m s?1 at 25 °C with a dose sensitivity of 0.14 ± 0.03 m s?1 Gy?1; both properties changed with temperature and were 1535.4 ± 0.8 m s?1 and ?0.08 ± 0.01 m s?1 Gy?1 respectively at 15 °C. The density also varied with temperature and dose, and was 1028.9 ± 0.3 kg m?3 with a dose sensitivity of 0.178 ± 0.004 kg m?3 Gy?1 at 26 °C. The characteristic acoustic impedance of MAGIC gel was calculated to be 1.596 × 106 kg m2 s?1 at 0 Gy and 25 °C. The dose sensitivities measured indicate that changes to the characteristic acoustic impedance caused by irradiation are small, and therefore a reflector that has a similar characteristic acoustic impedance is required to maximise sensitivity of the pulse-echo technique. A suitable material has been developed and the reflection characteristics of the interface between MAGIC gel and the reflector are also temperature dependent. It is concluded that temperature management will be central to the development of any practical pulse-echo dosimetry system.<br/
The effects of focused transducer geometry and sample size on the measurement of ultrasonic transmission properties
No full textThe response of two coaxially aligned weakly focused ultrasonic transducers, typical of those employed for measuring the attenuation of small samples using the immersion method, has been investigated. The effects of the sample size on transmission measurements have been analyzed by integrating the sound pressure distribution functions of the radiator and receiver over different limits to determine the size of the region that contributes to the system response. The results enable the errors introduced into measurements of attenuation to be estimated as a function of sample size. A theoretical expression has been used to examine how the transducer separation affects the receiver output. The calculations are compared with an experimental study of the axial response of three unpaired transducers in water. The separation of each transducer pair giving the maximum response was determined, and compared with the field characteristics of the individual transducers. The optimum transducer separation, for accurate estimation of sample properties, was found to fall between the sum of the focal distances and the sum of the geometric focal lengths as this reduced diffraction errors
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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