Citations

Ultrasound vibro-acoustography is a novel medical imaging modality that combines the high resolution of high-frequency ultrasound with the speckle-free images obtained using low-frequency methods. This imaging modality relies on the non-linear interaction of two high frequency beams at slightly different frequencies. We describe the physics of ultrasound vibro-acoustography and outline a strategy for its modeling, simulation, and optimal design.

This article discusses the possibility of using microbubble contrast agents in the Vibro-Acoustography (VA) technique. An existing mathematical model is used to determine the interaction of encapsulated microbubbles with VA ultrasound fields. Such models may lead to a better understanding of the underlying mechanics and interactions in clinical settings.

Three non-destructive testing techniques are developed and investigated to determine the Young’s modulus of elasticity of the trachea and the results are compared with the standard uniaxial state of stress method. These techniques are based on: (1) simulating the trachea as a pressurized vessel and deducing a special relationship between the pressure and the radial strain; (2) using two hydrophones and determining the variation in acoustic transmittance caused by the presence of the trachea in a propagation path within a water-bath; (3) considering the trachea as a thin cylindrical shell and determining the resonance radial vibration response. Discussion is presented to identify the “pros” and “cons” of each technique and final practical recommendations are made.

High-resolution ultrasound imaging systems for inspection of defects and flaws in materials are of great demand in many industries. Among these systems, Vibro-acoustography (VA) has shown excellent capabilities as a noncontact method for nondestructive high-resolution imaging applications. This method consists of mixing two confocal ultrasound beams, slightly shifted in frequency, to produce a dynamic (oscillatory) radiation force in the region of their intersection. This force vibrates the object placed at the focus of the confocal transducer. As a result of the applied force, an acoustic emission field at the difference frequency of the primary incident ultrasound beams is produced. In addition to the difference frequency acoustic emission signal, there exists another signal at the sum frequency, formed in the intersection region of the two primary beams. The goal of this study is to investigate the formation of high-resolution images using the sum frequency of ultrasound waves in VA while concurrently forming the conventional difference-frequency VA image, thereby increasing the amount of information acquired during a single scan. A theoretical model describing the sum-frequency wave propagation, including beam forming and image formation in the confocal configuration, is developed and verified experimentally. Moreover, sample experiments are performed on a flawed fiber-reinforced ceramic composite plate. Images at both the difference and sum frequencies are compared and discussed. Results show that the sum-frequency image produces a high-resolution C scan of the plate by which the flaws and structural details of the plate can be detected.

This work presents an approach to inversely determine material properties for solids immersed in fluids through the use of steady-state dynamic response. The methodology uses measured acoustic pressure amplitudes in the fluid surrounding a structure being vibrated with a harmonic force to determine the parameters for elastic and viscoelastic material models. Steady-state dynamic finite element analysis is used to compute the frequency response function of homogeneous and heterogeneous solids. The frequency response is then used to inversely estimate material parameters. In order to solve the inverse problem, an optimization method is presented which combines the global search capabilities of the random search method with the reduced computational time of a surrogate model approach. Through numerical and laboratory experiments, this work shows that acoustic emissions hold sufficient information for quantifying both elastic and viscoelastic material behaviors. Furthermore, the examples show that the surrogate model accelerated random search algorithm is an efficient and accurate method for solving these types of inverse problems. This research has direct and important implications in nondestructive evaluation of material properties in general. However, the examples shown in this paper are based on applications related to noninvasive characterization of biological materials through methodologies currently applied to medical imaging.

High frequency ultrasound imaging systems are traditionally used in industry to obtain high resolution images of solid surfaces, and in some cases, to evaluate surface roughness. In this study we show that imaging fine surface roughness in the order of few microns is achievable at audio range frequencies (kilohertz range) by using the vibroacoustography (VA) technique. This technique allows one to image surface roughness on the basis of the ultrasound radiation force stimulated acoustic emission in a standing ultrasound wave field. Images obtained here demonstrate that VA may be used as a powerful tool for nondestructive inspection and imaging of surface roughness.

Background. The vibrational characteristics of any object are directly dependent on the physical properties of that object. Therefore, changing the physical properties of an object will cause the object to adopt changed natural frequencies. A fracture in a bone results in the loss of mechanical stability of the bone. This change in mechanical properties of a bone should result in a change of the resonant frequencies of that bone. A vibrational method for bone evaluation has been introduced. Method of approach. This method uses the radiation force of focused amplitude-modulated ultrasound to exert a vibrating force directly, and remotely, on a bone. The vibration frequency is varied in the range of interest to induce resonances in the bone. The resulting bone motion is recorded and the resonance frequencies are determined. Experiments are conducted on excised rat femurs and resonance frequencies of intact, fractured, and bonded (simulating healed) bones are measured. Results. The experiments demonstrate that changes in the resonance frequency are indicative of bone fracture and healing, i.e., the fractured bone exhibits a lower resonance frequency than the intact bone, and the resonance frequency of the bonded bone approaches that of the intact bone. Conclusion. It is concluded that the proposed radiation force method may be used as a remote and noninvasive tool for monitoring bone fracture and healing process, and the use of focused ultrasound enables one to selectively evaluate individual bones.

The goal of this study was to excite and measure, in a noncontact manner, the vibrational modes of the reed from a reed organ pipe. To perform ultrasound stimulated excitation, the audio-range difference frequency between a pair of ultrasound beams produced a radiation force that induced vibrations. The resulting vibrational deflection shapes were measured with a scanning laser vibrometer. The resonances of any relatively small object can be studied in air using this technique. For a 36mm×6mm brass reed, displacements and velocities in excess of 5μm and 4mm∕s could be imparted at the fundamental frequency of 145Hz. Using the same ultrasound transducer, excitation across the entire range of audio frequencies was obtained. Since the beam was focused on the reed, ultrasound stimulated excitation eliminated background effects observed during mechanical shaker excitation, such as vibrations of clamps and supports. The results obtained using single, dual and confocal ultrasound transducers in AM and two-beam modes, along with results obtained using a mechanical shaker and audio excitation using a speaker are discussed.

We report a method to improve image quality in the nondestructive investigation and visualization of defects using vibroacoustography (VA). Vibroacoustography is an ultrasound-based imaging technique that uses the dynamic (oscillatory) radiation force of low-frequency excitation (within kilohertz range) to remotely vibrate objects and detect the ensuing acoustic emission. This technique is nondestructive and noncontact and has shown numerous capabilities to produce high-resolution images of different types of materials. However, for reflective materials, ultrasound reflects back and forth between the object and transducer, thus establishing standing waves. This phenomenon produces an artifact in the shape of false contours in the VA images. The goal of this study is to investigate the formation of the standing wave artifacts and develop a process called chirp imaging to improve defect visibility and flaw detection capability. Chirp VA experiments are performed on a flawed fiber-reinforced ceramic composite plate and on an electronic chip. To assess the efficacy of the chirp imaging process in removing the standing-wave artifact, the resulting chirp images are compared to “fixed frequency” VA images. Results show that the false contour can be significantly reduced in the image, thus remarkably improving image quality and flaw detection.

This paper presents a new method of inducing localized low-frequency acoustic energy in an object by remote sources. In this method two interacting high-power, high-frequency, ultrasound beams at two different frequencies are used. These beams are positioned to interact at the object’s surface (or any other impedance discontinuity inside the object). The result is a radiation force at the difference frequency, df, exerted in a small area defined by the beamwidths. Experiments are performed on a small steel needle and blocks of gelatin. To monitor the vibration, a high-frequency probing transducer is used in pulse echo mode with the beam aimed at the vibrating part of the object. This transducer shoots tone bursts at a rate much higher than df. Echoes are quadrature detected and the resulting in-phase and quadrature signals are recorded. These signals are used to calculate the phase of the returned echo which is shown to be proportional to the target displacement. In the experiments, the power beams were driven at 20 W each and df=10 Hz. Amplitude of the resulting vibrations were 5 μm for the gelatin block and 1.2 μm for the needle.