Greenleaf, J.F.

This study deals with the relationship between the magnitude of acoustic nonlinearity, sound speed of tissues and the amount of fat present in them. A two-component model, i.e., nonfat and fat, has been assumed and equations that relate the nonlinear parameter (B/A) of a medium to the properties of its components have been derived for two cases. In the first case, the density and sound speed are the same for the two components; B/A is a linear function of fat concentration. To represent this case, mixtures of egg white and yolk were studied. Even though the differences in density and sound speed of the two egg components were within 1 percent of each other, B/A showed a deviation from linearity. In the second case, i.e., when the density and sound speed of the two components are not equal, a quadratic equation has been derived using mixture laws. Livers, fats, egg mixtures, and oil data were used to represent this case. B/A increased quadratically with fat concentration. The presence of proteins on the binary aqueous/fat mixtures modified the quadratic rule.

Global and local attenuation coefficient estimates were calculated using three methods: the envelope peak method, the central-frequency-downshift method, and the zero-crossing method. The results show that for each method the error of the local estimate with respect to the global estimate is increased as the sample volume is decreased. While the performances of the latter two methods are comparable, the performance of the envelope peak method is significantly superior.

In this paper, an experimental test of a theoretical model published previously is presented that describes the behavior of an acoustoelectric transducer with a nonuniform distribution of the piezoelectric coefficient within its bulk. Results of this theoretical model are first reviewed. Uniform and nonuniform piezoelectric transducers were fabricated, following a procedure described herein. The receive transfer functions of the transducers were recorded experimentally, and a comparison is made with the theoretical transfer functions predicted by the model, which shows good agreement. The transmit transfer functions of the uniform and nonuniform transducers were also measured and are reported. Numerical calculations of the different transfer functions given by the theoretical model for a uniform transducer associated with different backing materials are also presented, and the results are shown to be equivalent to the results following from the Mason equivalent circuit. Comparisons with experimental results and with Mason’s equivalent circuit verified the new theoretical model.