Transient elastography in anisotropic medium: application to the measurement of slow and fast shear wave speeds in muscles

From the measurement of a low frequency (50-150 Hz) shear wave speed, transient elastography evaluates the Young's modulus in isotropic soft tissues. In this paper, it is shown that a rod source can generate a low frequency polarized shear strain waves. Consequently this technique allows to study anisotropic medium such as muscle. The evidence of the polarization of low frequency shear strain waves is supported by both numeric simulations and experiments. The numeric simulations are based on theoretical Green's functions in isotropic and anisotropic media (hexagonal system). The experiments in vitro led on beef muscle proves the pertinent of this simple anisotropic pattern. Results in vivo on man biceps shows the existence of slow and fast shear waves as predicted by theory.     

FEL gain in the pulsed regime: a comparison between numerical and analytical results

Summary In this paper we present simple and general formulae for the FEL gain in the pulsed regime including both the longitudinal mode coupling and the lethargy effect. Such relations, obtained from a numerical integration of the pulse propagation equations, are then compared to similar expressions obtained analitycally in the limiting case of the long bunch approximation and the agreement is shown to be excellent.

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Riassunto In questo lavoro vengono derivate formule semplici e generali relative al guadagno FEL in regime impulsato. Tali formule tengono conto dell'accoppiamento tra i modi longitudinali e dell'effetto di letargia. Le relazioni di cui sopra sono ottenute nell'ambito di una trattazione numerica delle equazioni di propagazione degli impulsi e sono poi comparate ad analoghe espressioni ottenute per via analitica nel caso limite di pacchetto di elettroni lungo. Si dimostra come l'accordo sia particolarmente buono.

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Резюме В зтой статье мы приводим простые и общие формулы для усиления для лазера на свободных злектронах в импульсном режиме, учитывая связь продольных мод и зффект летаргии. Зти соотношения, полченные с помощью численного интегрирования уравнений распространения импульса, затем сравниваются с аналогичными выражениями, полученными аналитически в предельном случае приближения длинного сгустка, и получается хорошее согласие.

     

Study of a vibrating plate: comparison between experimental (ESPI) and analytical results

Real-time electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) was used for tuning and visualization of natural frequencies of a trapezoidal plate. The plate was excited to resonant vibration by a sinusoidal acoustical source, which provided a continuous range of audio frequencies. Fringe patterns produced during the time-average recording of the vibrating plate—corresponding to several resonant frequencies—were registered. From these interferograms, calculations of vibrational amplitudes by means of zero-order Bessel functions were performed in some particular cases. The system was also studied analytically. The analytical approach developed is based on the Rayleigh–Ritz method and on the use of non-orthogonal right triangular co-ordinates. The deflection of the plate is approximated by a set of beam characteristic orthogonal polynomials generated by using the Gram–Schmidt procedure. A high degree of correlation between computational analysis and experimental results was observed.     

Transient Lamb waves: comparison between theory and experiment

This paper presents an experimental investigation of the generation of transient Lamb waves inside an immersed plate by a time limited signal. The transient Lamb waves are the solutions of the characteristic equation of the plate for complex frequency and real slowness, in contrast to the leaky Lamb waves, for which the slowness is complex and the frequency is real. By using a large transducer in agreement with the real slowness assumption, the excitation of these transient Lamb waves is observed experimentally both in reflection and transmission for a tone burst excitation. Particular attention is paid to the A0 mode for which the amplitude increases exponentially in time. As a result, the total reflected waveform contains in this case a transient contribution, coming from the generation of the A0 mode, that precedes the forced regime. It is shown that there is a very good agreement between the theoretical and the experimental time exponential amplitude variations of the transient Lamb waves. For the A0 mode, the transient signal is qualitatively explained by a group velocity higher than the phase velocity.     

Some analytical results on nonlinear acoustic wave propagation in diffusive media

Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. Published in Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 36, No. 7, pp. 665–686, July, 1993.     

Characterization of a fiber-optic displacement sensor for measurements in high-intensity focused ultrasound fields

A fiber-optic sensor is presented that is capable of measuring the particle displacement in high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) fields. For this probe, a secondary calibration was performed, and the resulting complex frequency response is discussed. As a first practical application, the setup was used to measure the pressure in the field of a weakly focusing ultrasound transducer. The result is compared with that of a membrane hydrophone measurement. The feasibility of measurements in HIFU fields is demonstrated by means of measurements of the spatial distribution of the peak particle velocity within the focus of a HIFU transducer and of the dependence of the peak values on the acoustical power level.     

Oscillation and extinction thresholds of the clarinet: comparison of analytical results and experiments

In the context of a simplified model of the clarinet in which the losses are assumed to be frequency independent the analytic expressions of the various thresholds have been calculated in a previous paper [Dalmont et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 118, 32.94-3305 (2005)]. The present work is a quantitative comparison between "theoretical" values of the thresholds and their experimental values measured by using an artificial mouth. It is shown that the "Raman" model, providing that nonlinear losses are taken into account, is reliable and able to predict the values of thresholds.     

Phase characterization of the reflection on an extreme UV multilayer: comparison between attosecond metrology and standing wave measurements

We characterize the phase shift induced by reflection on a multilayer mirror in the extreme UV range (80-93?eV) using two techniques: one based on high order harmonic generation and attosecond metrology (reconstruction of attosecond beating by interference of two-photon transitions), and a second based on synchrotron radiation and measurements of standing waves (total electron yield). We find an excellent agreement between the results from the two measurements and a flat group delay shift (±40?as) over the main reflectivity peak of the mirror.     

海底沉积物压缩波速度与切变波速度的关系

基于连续介质假设,根据无吸收各向同性弹性介质通用方程分析沉积物声波传播关系,提出应用弹性结构分布因子表达的声速通用模型(GMSS,General Model of Sound Speed)分析海底沉积物的声速特性;通过研究Willey时间平均模型、Wood方程、Gassmann方程、Buckingham模型、Biot-Stoll模型和EDFM模型,可以表述成GMSS通用模型中的弹性结构分布因子的具体表达形式,得出GMSS通用模型在解释压缩波速度和切变波速度特性上具有一致性的特点。GMSS通用模型具有弹性结构分布因子、孔隙度、孔隙海水的等效密度和等效弹性模量、固相颗粒的等效密度、固相颗粒的等效体积弹性模量和等效切变弹性模量共7个参数,为研究海底沉积物压缩波和切变波速度提供了一种模型简单、参数少、通用性强的方法。但也需要从物理结构上以及应力应变关系上开展更为深入的分析和探寻GMSS模型的物理意义和参数测量的方法。     

Compressional and shear wave properties of marine sediments: comparisons between theory and data

According to a recently developed theory of wave propagation in marine sediments, the dispersion relationships for the phase speed and attenuation of the compressional and the shear wave depend on only three macroscopic physical variables: porosity, grain size, and depth in the sediment. The dispersion relations also involve three (real) parameters, assigned fixed values, representing microscopic processes occurring at grain contacts. The dispersion relationships are compared with extensive data sets, taken from the literature, covering the four wave properties as functions of all three physical variables. With no adjustable parameters available, the theory matches accurately the trends of all the data sets. This agreement extends to the compressional and shear attenuations, in that the theory accurately traces out the lower bound to the widely distributed measured attenuations: the theory predicts the intrinsic attenuation, arising from the irreversible conversion of wave energy into heat, whereas the measurements return the effective attenuation, which includes the intrinsic attenuation plus additional sources of loss such as scattering from shell fragments and other inhomogeneities in the medium. Provided one wave or physical property is known, say the compressional speed or the porosity, all the remaining sediment properties may be reliably estimated from the theory.     

Doppler ultrasound detection of shear waves remotely induced in tissue phantoms and tissue in vitro

In shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI), mechanical excitation within the tissue is remotely generated using radiation force of focused ultrasound. The induced shear strain is subsequently detected to estimate visco-elastic properties of tissue and thus aid diagnostics. In this paper, the mechanical response of tissue to radiation force was detected using a modified ultrasound Doppler technique. The experiments were performed on tissue mimicking and tissue containing phantoms using a commercial diagnostic scanner. This scanner was modified to control both the pushing and probing beams. The pushing beam was fired repetitively along a single direction while interlaced probing beams swept the surrounding region of interest to detect the induced motion. The detectability of inhomogeneous inclusions using ultrasonic Doppler SWEI method has been demonstrated in this study. The displacement fields measured in elastic phantoms clearly reveal the oscillatory nature of the mechanical relaxation processes in response to impulsive load due to the boundary effects. This relaxation dynamics was also present in cooked muscle tissue, but was not detected in more viscous and less elastic phantom and raw muscles. Presence of a local heterogeneity in the vicinity of the focal region of the pushing beam results in generation of a standing wave field pattern which is manifested in the oscillatory response of the excited region of the tissue. There has been made an assumption that dynamic characteristics of the relaxation process may be used for visualization of inhomogeneities.     

The use of the Verasonics ultrasound system to measure shear wave velocities in CIRS phantoms

The shear wave velocity is measured in calibrated polymeric CIRS phantoms containing various spheres of two diameters located at different depths. The measurements are performed at the Verasonics ultrasound system using the method of the shear wave elasticity imaging.     

Self-filtering unstable resonator: An approximate analytical model with comparison to computed and XeCl laser experimental results

Approximate analytical solutions for the lowest-order transverse mode of empty self-filtering unstable resonator have been deduced for magnification M 》 1, and compared with some experimental measurements on an X-ray preionized XeCl discharge laser.     

Ultrasound frame rate requirements for cardiac elastography: experimental and in vivo results

Cardiac elastography using radiofrequency echo signals can provide improved 2D strain information compared to B-mode image data, provided data are acquired at sufficient frame rates. In this paper, we evaluate ultrasound frame rate requirements for unbiased and robust estimation of tissue displacements and strain. Both tissue-mimicking phantoms under cyclic compressions at rates that mimic the contractions of the heart and in vivo results are presented. Sinusoidal compressions were applied to the phantom at frequencies ranging from 0.5 to 3.5 cycles/sec, with a maximum deformation of 5% of the phantom height. Local displacements and strains were estimated using both a two-step one-dimensional and hybrid two-dimensional cross-correlation method. Accuracy and repeatability of local strains were assessed as a function of the ultrasound frame rate based on signal-to-noise ratio values.The maximum signal-to-noise ratio obtained in a uniformly elastic phantom is 20 dB for both a 1.26 Hz and a 2 Hz compression frequency when the radiofrequency echo acquisition is at least 12 Hz and 20 Hz respectively. However, for compression frequencies of 2.8 Hz and 4 Hz the maximum signal-to-noise ratio obtained is around 16 dB even for a 40 Hz frame rate. Our results indicate that unbiased estimation of displacements and strain require ultrasound frame rates greater than ten times the compression frequency, although a frame rate of about two times the compression frequency is sufficient to estimate the compression frequency imparted to the tissue-mimicking phantom. In vivo results derived from short-axis views of the heart acquired from normal human volunteers also demonstrate this frame rate requirement for elastography.     

Estimating material viscoelastic properties based on surface wave measurements: a comparison of techniques and modeling assumptions

Previous studies of the first author and others have focused on low audible frequency (<1 kHz) shear and surface wave motion in and on a viscoelastic material comprised of or representative of soft biological tissue. A specific case considered has been surface (Rayleigh) wave motion caused by a circular disk located on the surface and oscillating normal to it. Different approaches to identifying the type and coefficients of a viscoelastic model of the material based on these measurements have been proposed. One approach has been to optimize coefficients in an assumed viscoelastic model type to match measurements of the frequency-dependent Rayleigh wave speed. Another approach has been to optimize coefficients in an assumed viscoelastic model type to match the complex-valued frequency response function (FRF) between the excitation location and points at known radial distances from it. In the present article, the relative merits of these approaches are explored theoretically, computationally, and experimentally. It is concluded that matching the complex-valued FRF may provide a better estimate of the viscoelastic model type and parameter values; though, as the studies herein show, there are inherent limitations to identifying viscoelastic properties based on surface wave measurements.     

Finite element modeling and intravascular ultrasound elastography of vulnerable plaques: parameter variation

BACKGROUND AND GOAL: More than 60% of all myocardial infarction is caused by rupture of a vulnerable plaque. A vulnerable plaque can be described as a large, soft lipid pool covered by a thin fibrous cap. Plaque material composition, geometry, and inflammation caused by infiltration of macrophages are considered as major determinants for plaque rupture. For diagnostic purposes, these determinants may be obtained from elastograms (i.e. radial strain images), which are derived from intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) measurements. IVUS elastograms, however, cannot be interpreted directly as tissue component images, because radial strain depends upon plaque geometry, plaque material properties, and used catheter position. To understand and quantify the influence of these parameters upon measured IVUS elastograms, they were varied in a finite element model (FEM) that simulates IVUS elastograms of vulnerable plaques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: IVUS elastography measurements were performed on a vessel mimicking phantom, with a soft plaque embedded in a hard wall, and an atherosclerotic human coronary artery containing a vulnerable plaque. Next, FEMs were created to simulate IVUS elastograms of the same objects. In these FEMs the following parameters were varied: Young's modulus (E), Poisson's ratio (nu) in range 0.49-0.4999, catheter position (translation of 0.8 mm), and cap thickness (t) in range 50-350 microm. Hereby the resulting peak radial strain (PRS) was determined and visualized. RESULTS: Measured static E for phantom was 4.2 kPa for plaque and 16.8 kPa for wall.Variation of E-wall in range 8.4-33.2 kPa and/or E-plaque in range 2.1-8.4 kPa using the phantom FEM, gave a PRS variation of 1.6%, i.e. from 1.7% up to almost 3.3%; for variation in nu this was only 0.07%, i.e. from 2.37% up to 2.44%. Variation of E-lipid in range 6.25-400 kPa and E-cap in range 700-2300 kPa using the artery FEM, gave a PRS variation of 3.1%, i.e. from 0.6% up to 3.7%. The PRS was higher for lower E-lipid and E-cap; it was located at a shoulder of the lipid pool. Variation of nu gave only a variation of 0.17%. Variation of t and E-cap resulted in a PRS variation of 1.4%, i.e. from 0.3% up to 1.7%; thinner and weaker caps gave higher PRS. Catheter position variation changed radial strain value. CONCLUSIONS: Measured IVUS elastograms of vulnerable plaques depend highly upon the Young's modulus of lipid and cap, but not upon the Poisson's ratio. Different catheter positions result in different IVUS elastograms, but the diagnostically important high strain regions at the lipid shoulders are often still detectable. PRS increases when cap weakens or cap thickness decreases.     

In vitro contrast-enhanced ultrasound measurements of capillary microcirculation: Comparison between polymer- and phospholipid-shelled microbubbles

The focus of contrast-enhanced ultrasound research has developed beyond visualizing the blood pool and its flow to new areas such as perfusion imaging, drug and gene therapy, and targeted imaging. In this work comparison between the application of polymer- and phospholipid-shelled ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) for characterization of the capillary microcirculation is reported. All experiments are carried out using a microtube as a vessel phantom. The first set of experiments evaluates the optimal concentration level where backscattered signal from microbubbles depends on concentration linearly. For the polymer-shelled UCAs the optimal concentration level is reached at a value of about 2 × 10⁴ MB/ml, whereas for the phospholipid-shelled UCAs the optimal level is found at about 1 × 10⁵ MB/ml.Despite the fact that the polymer shell occupies 30% of the radius of microbubble, compared to 0.2% of the phospholipid-shelled bubble, approximately 5-fold lower concentration of the polymer UCA is needed for investigation compared to phospholipid-shelled analogues. In the second set of experiments, destruction/replenishment method with varied time intervals ranging from 2 ms to 3 s between destructive and monitoring pulses is employed. The dependence of the peak-to-peak amplitude of backscattered wave versus pulse interval is fitted with an exponential function of the time γ = A(1 − exp(−βt)) where A represents capillary volume and the time constant β represents velocity of the flow. Taking into account that backscattered signal is linearly proportional to the microbubble concentration, for both types of the UCAs it is observed that capillary volume is linearly proportional to the concentration of the microbubbles, but the estimation of the flow velocity is not affected by the change of the concentration. Using the single capillary model, for the phospholipid-shelled UCA a delay of about 0.2-0.3 s in evaluation of the perfusion characteristics is found while polymer-shelled UCA provide response immediately. The latter at the concentration lower than 3.6 × 10⁵ MB/ml have no statistically significant delay (p < 0.01), do not cause any attenuation of the backscattered signal or saturation of the receiving part of the system. In conclusion, these results suggest that the novel polymer-shelled microbubbles have a potential to be used for perfusion evaluation.     

Electroconvection in nematic liquid crystals: comparison between experimental results and the hydrodynamic model

We describe experimental observations illustrating the extraordinary sensitivity of pattern formation in electroconvection in nematic liquid crystals to changes in magnitude and sign of dynamic transport coefficients triggered by weak fluctuations from a lower temperature nematic-smectic A phase transition. These results are compared to predictions of a hydrodynamic model (HM). We find two patterns at onset not predicted by HM: a rectangular pattern of short normal rolls, and, at lower temperatures, localized patterns coexisting with the subcritical state.     

MR elastography of the head and neck: Driver design and initial results

Purpose

The purpose was to describe the design and fabrication of a driver suitable for magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) of the head and neck and to assess its performance in evaluating human parotid gland, lymph nodes and thyroid at 3.0 T.

Materials and methods

A head and neck driver was fabricated using a commercial transducer, headrest mould and piston extension. Driver performance was tested using a motion-sensitized spin-echo MRE pulse sequence. Six healthy volunteers and three patients (two metastatic nodes and one papillary carcinoma) were evaluated using MRE. Viscoelastic maps were computed to obtain storage modulus (G’) and loss modulus (G”) of the normal parotid and thyroid, metastatic node and thyroid cancer. Reproducibility was assessed by coefficient of variation.

Results

All subjects completed MRE examination without discomfort. Initial G’ and G” values were as follows: normal parotid gland, 1.12 kPa and 0.48 kPa; thyroid, 0.58 kPa and 0.42 kPa; metastatic node, 0.66 kPa and 0.58 kPa; and thyroid cancer, 0.17 kPa and 0.28 kPa. Based on parotid data, the coefficient of variation for G’ and G” was 4.7% and 9.8%.

Conclusion

A new MRE driver for head and neck was successfully implemented, and our initial results suggested the device was suitable for the mechanical assessment of tissues in the head and neck.