Greenleaf, James F.

In paper, we report our recent results of using the air force ultrasound transducer to study the resonance of rubber tubes. Experiments were carried out on a rubber latex tube. Seven resonant frequencies were measured between 50 Hz and 200 Hz. Theoretical calculation of the resonant frequency on the tube was done with the wave propagation approach. The relative differences of the seven resonant frequencies between the experiment and the theory are less than 6 %. This research shows that the air force ultrasound transducer can be used for tube resonance measurement.

Arterial wall stiffness can be associated with various diseases. Arteriosclerosis involves the buildup of plaques within artery walls that stiffen the arteries. The stiffness of an artery can be assessed by measurement of the pulse wave velocity (PWV). Usually, PWV is estimated using the foot-to-foot method. However, the foot of the pressure wave is not very clear due to reflected waves. Also, the blood pressure wave generated by the heart is normally a low frequency wave, hence the time resolution is low. PWV is an average indicator of artery stiffness between the two measuring positions, and therefore cannot easily identify local stiffness. In this paper a force on the arterial wall is generated noninvasively by the radiation force of ultrasound. Techniques for measuring the propagating wave due to this localized force are studied. The excitation force can be either a very short pulse or a modulated cw signal of a few hundred hertz. The temporal resolution of this method, which is in the range of microseconds, is much higher than the conventional pressure PWV method, and therefore allows the wave velocity to be measured accurately over short distances of a few millimeters.

Earlier studies [P. J. Westervelt, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 29, 199–203, 934–935 (1957)] of the mutual nonlinear interaction of two plane waves of sound with each other are extended to include the viscous effect. The viscous effect is considered both from the equations of motion and the equation of state of the medium. An analytical solution to the lowest order scattering process is obtained if the viscous effect of second order and higher can be neglected. In fact, it is shown that the scattered density ρs of two interacting plane waves having the frequencies ω1 and ω2, respectively, satisfies the following equation: ⧠2vρs=⧠2v{c0−2E12+[(2cosθ +B/A)/2ω1ω2 (1−cosθ)]∇2W12 +[DB(c20ω1ω2)−1 / 4A ×(1−cosθ)2]∇2(∂W12/∂t)+[DB(3+cosθ)/2Ac40 (1−cosθ)](∂V12/∂t)}, where E12, V12, and W12 are, respectively, the total, potential, and special defined energy densities, D is the sound diffusivity, B and A are nonlinearity parameters, θ is the intersecting angle, and ⧠2v is a modified d’Alembertian operator. [Work supported by CA43920 NIH.]

The orotic acid dietary “liver lipid” model has successfully been used to study ultrasonic properties in excessively fatty rat livers [O'Brien et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 83, 1159–1166 (1988)]. The model was used again in order to evaluate more fully ultrasound properties within a more condensed (2%–10%) lipid concentration range. The fatty livers were first evaluated in the intact animal (in situ) with an ultrasonic imaging system (≅ 5 MHz) and then the excised (in vitro) livers were evaluated over the 1- to 100-MHz frequency range. Water, lipid, total protein, and collagen were evaluated for each liver. Significant (p < 0.001) correlations of ultrasonic properties (absorption, all attenuation, speed, and Markovian entropy) against tissue properties (water and lipid) were obtained, thus suggesting that the independent measure of texture may relate to basic ultrasonic propagation properties. [Work supported by NIH Grant CS36O29.]

Quantitative images of acoustic speed distribution in excised human tissues, in excised dog myocardium, and in in vivo female breasts were obtained by ultrasound computerized tomography. The in vitro study was carried over a temperature from 20° to 40 °C. Results indicate (1) acoustic speed in human tissues (except fat) increase monotonically with temperature in this range, (2) fat shows an anomalous decrease in acoustic speed around 35 °C, (3) average acoustic speed is higher in breasts with cancer and with fibrocystic disease compared to normal breasts, and (4) acoustic speed is a function of age. The reconstruction problem in ultrasound computerized tomography is unlike its x-ray analog because of the refraction and diffraction effects. Methods to correct for the consequent degradation are discussed. The backscattering properties of in vivo myocardial tissue of dogs were studied by a high-resolution B-scanner and the potential of (renovist and indocyanine green) as ultrasound contrast agents to quantitate perfusion in the myocardium will be discussed. [Work supported by NCI-CB-64041, HV 72928, HL-07111, HL-00060, HL-00170.]

Background— In this study we evaluate the diastolic deformation of ischemic/reperfused myocardium and relate this deformation to tissue elastic properties. Methods and Results— Farm pigs were subjected to left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion followed by reperfusion to create either stunning (n=12) or transmural myocardial infarction (n=12). Ultrasound-derived radial strain rates (SR) and strain were measured in the ischemic and remote walls. Myocardial stiffness was estimated from diastolic pressure–wall thickness relationship obtained from preload alterations. At reperfusion, end-systolic strain (ε sys ) was significantly reduced in both stunned and infarcted walls compared with their remote walls (3±3% versus 26±2% and 1±0% versus 33±5%, respectively; P <0.0001) or baseline values. Diastolic passive deformation (ε A ) and rates of deformation during early (E SR ) and late (A SR ) diastole were comparable between stunned and remote walls (ε A : 7.3±1.6% versus 7.9±1.9%; E SR : −2.7±0.4 s −1 versus −2.6±0.5 s −1 ; A SR : −1.8±0.2 s −1 versus −1.9±0.3 s −1 ; P =NS for all) but were of significantly lower magnitude in infarcted walls versus remote walls (ε A : 1.1±0.2% versus 11.4±1.9%; E SR : −0.3±0.1 s −1 versus −2.4±0.4 s −1 ; A SR : −0.3±0.1 s −1 versus −2.5±0.4 s −1 ; P <0.0001 for all). Stiffness coefficient of exponential diastolic pressure–wall thickness relation was higher for infarcted ( P <0.05) but not for stunned walls ( P =NS) compared with their remote walls. Conclusions— Early after postischemic reperfusion and in the presence of severely reduced systolic deformation, diastolic passive deformation (and rates of deformation) can distinguish stiff, noncompliant, transmurally infarcted myocardial walls from those more compliant walls containing viable but stunned myocardium.