Measurement of the Dispersion and Attenuation of Cylindrical Ultrasonic Guided Waves in Long Bone

Osteoporotic bones are likely to have less cortical bone than healthy bones. The velocities of guided waves propagating in a long cylindrical bone are very sensitive to bone properties and cortical thickness (CTh). This work studies the dispersion and attenuation of ultrasonic guided waves propagating in long cylindrical bone. A hollow cylinder filled with a viscous liquid was used to model the long bone and then to calculate the theoretical phase and group velocities, as well as the attenuation of the waves. The generation and selection of guided wave modes were based on theoretical dispersive curves. The phase velocity and attenuation of cylindrical guided wave modes, such as L(0,1), L(0,2) and L(0,3), were measured in bovine tibia using angled beam transducers at various propagation distances ranging from 75 to 160 mm. The results showed that the phase velocity of the L(0,2) guided wave mode decreased with an increase in CTh. The attenuation of the low cylindrical guided wave modes was a nonlinear function that increased with propagation distance and mode order. The L(0,2) mode had a different attenuation for each CTh. The experimental results were in good agreement with the predicted values. Cylindrical guided waves of low-frequency and low-order have been shown to demonstrate more dispersion and less attenuation and should, therefore, be used to evaluate long bone. (E-mail: tda@fudan.edu.cn)     

Observation of Guided Acoustic Waves in a Human Skull

Human skull poses a significant barrier for the propagation of ultrasound waves. Development of methods enabling more efficient ultrasound transmission into and from the brain is therefore critical for the advancement of ultrasound-mediated transcranial imaging or actuation techniques. We report on the first observation of guided acoustic waves in the near field of an ex vivo human skull specimen in the frequency range between 0.2 and 1.5MHz. In contrast to what was previously observed for guided wave propagation in thin rodent skulls, the guided wave observed in a higher-frequency regime corresponds to a quasi-Rayleigh wave, confined mostly to the cortical bone layer. The newly discovered near-field properties of the human skull are expected to facilitate the development of more efficient diagnostic and therapeutic techniques based on transcranial ultrasound.     

声通道上的条状障碍物对高强度聚焦超声声场的影响

目的 研究高强度聚焦超声(HIFU)透过用条状障碍物模拟的肋骨后的声场分布.方法 引导HIFU声束透过肋间隙、肋缘及正对肋骨,在每种情况下将肋骨分别置于距焦平面3、6、9 cm处,采用水听器描绘出了每种情况下声场的分布.结果 轴向声压分布:在3种障碍物分布情况下,声通道上由于肋骨的存在,声压幅值较自由场下降了60%～80%,相对于自由场,-6 dB焦域的尺寸增大0.5～1.5 mm.焦点的位置相对于自由场,也发生了前移,焦点向换能器方向靠近0.1～2.3 mm.径向声压分布:在3种障碍物分布情况下,当肋骨距焦平面3、6 cm时,声压的分布出现多峰的现象,相对于自由场,声压幅值降低.当肋骨距焦平面9 cm时,在经过了肋骨之后,波束基本上还是保持了原来的形状,声压分布与自由场接近.结论 声通道上存在肋骨时HIFU焦域的声压幅值明显降低,声压幅值的降低与声束轴线与肋骨的相对位置以及肋骨距焦平面的距离有关.声通道上存在肋骨时对HIFU声焦域有影响,-6 dB焦域尺寸增加.     

Schlieren study of pulsed ultrasound transmission through human skull

A study has been made of the effects of the human skull on pulsed ultrasound from a diagnostic transducer. Schlieren photographs of ultrasound transmitted through a pediatric skull were made in various directions. Other than attenuation, little effect was observed on the directionality or spatial distribution of the ultrasonic pulses. These observations may be significant in considering the deleterious effects of the skull on imaging intracranial anatomy.     

Characterization of ultrasound propagation through ex-vivo human temporal bone

Adjuvant therapies that lower the thrombolytic dose or increase its efficacy would represent a significant breakthrough in the treatment of patients with ischemic stroke. The objective of this study was to perform intracranial measurements of the acoustic pressure field generated by 0.12, 1.03 and 2.00-MHz ultrasound transducers to identify optimal ultrasound parameters that would maximize penetration and minimize aberration of the beam. To achieve this goal, in vitro experiments were conducted on five human skull specimens. In a water-filled tank, two unfocused transducers (0.12 and 1.03 MHz) and one focused transducer (2.00 MHz) were consecutively placed near the right temporal bone of each skull. A hydrophone, mounted on a micropositioning system, was moved to an estimated location of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) origin, and measurements of the surrounding acoustic pressure field were performed. For each measurement, the distance from the position of maximum acoustic pressure to the estimated origin of the MCA inside the skulls was quantified. The -3 dB depth-of-field and beamwidth in the skull were also investigated as a function of the three frequencies. Results show that the transducer alignment relative to the skull is a significant determinant of the detailed behavior of the acoustic field inside the skull. For optimal penetration, insonation normal to the temporal bone was needed. The shape of the 0.12-MHz intracranial beam was more distorted than those at 1.03 and 2.00 MHz because of the large aperture and beamwidth. However, lower ultrasound pressure reduction was observed at 0.12 MHz (22.5%). At 1.03 and 2.00 MHz, two skulls had an insufficient temporal bone window and attenuated the beam severely (up to 96.6% pressure reduction). For all frequencies, constructive and destructive interference patterns were seen near the contralateral skull wall at various elevations. The 0.12-MHz ultrasound beam depth-of-field was affected the most when passing through the temporal bone and showed a decrease in size of more than 55% on average. The speed of sound in the temporal bone of each skull was estimated at 1.03 MHz and demonstrated a large range (1752.1 to 3285.3 m/s). Attenuation coefficients at 1.03 and 2.00 MHz were also derived for each of the five skull specimens. This work provides needed information on ultrasound beam shapes inside the human skull, which is a necessary first step for the development of an optimal transcranial ultrasound-enhanced thrombolysis device.     

Feasibility of Upper Cranial Nerve Sonication in Human Application via Neuronavigated Single-Element Pulsed Focused Ultrasound

Sonicating deep brain regions with pulsed focused ultrasound using magnetic resonance imaging–guided neuronavigation single-element piezoelectric transducers is a new area of exploration for neuromodulation. Upper cranial nerves such as the trigeminal nerve and other nerves responsible for sensory/motor functions in the head may be potential targets for ultrasound pain therapy. The location of upper cranial nerves close to the skull base poses additional challenges when compared with conventional cortical or middle brain targets. In the work described here, a series of computational and empirical testing methods using human skull specimens were conducted to assess the feasibility of sonicating the trigeminal pathway near the sphenoid bone region. The results indicate a transducer with a focal length of 120 mm and diameter of 85 mm (350 kHz) can deliver sonication to upper cranial nerve regions with spatial accuracy comparable to that of focused ultrasound brain targets used in previous human studies. Temperature measurements in cortical bone and in the skull base with embedded thermocouples yield evidence of minimal bone heating. Conventional pulse parameters were found to cause reverberation interference patterns near the cranial floor; therefore, changes in pulse cycles and pulse repetition frequency were examined for reducing standing waves. Limitations and considerations for conducting ultradeep focal targeting in human applications are discussed.     

Longitudinal and shear mode ultrasound propagation in human skull bone

Recent studies have attempted to dispel the idea of the longitudinal mode being the only significant mode of ultrasound energy transport through the skull bone. The inclusion of shear waves in propagation models has been largely ignored because of an assumption that shear mode conversions from the skull interfaces to the surrounding media rendered the resulting acoustic field insignificant in amplitude and overly distorted. Experimental investigations with isotropic phantom materials and ex vivo human skulls demonstrated that, in certain cases, a shear mode propagation scenario not only can be less distorted, but at times allowed for a substantial (as much as 36% of the longitudinal pressure amplitude) transmission of energy. The phase speed of 1.0-MHz shear mode propagation through ex vivo human skull specimens has been measured to be nearly half of that of the longitudinal mode (shear sound speed = 1500 +/- 140 m/s, longitudinal sound speed = 2820 +/- 40 m/s), demonstrating that a closer match in impedance can be achieved between the skull and surrounding soft tissues with shear mode transmission. By comparing propagation model results with measurements of transcranial ultrasound transmission obtained by a radiation force method, the attenuation coefficient for the longitudinal mode of propagation was determined to between 14 Np/m and 70 Np/m for the frequency range studied, while the same for shear waves was found to be between 94 Np/m and 213 Np/m. This study was performed within the frequency range of 0.2 to 0.9 MHz.     

Laser-Induced Fluorescence Thermometry of Heating in Water from Short Bursts of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound

Free field experimental measurements of the temperature rise of water in the focal region of a 2 MHz high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) transducer were performed. The transducer was operated in pulse-mode with millisecond bursts, at acoustic intensities of 5 to 18.5 kW/cm² at the focus, resulting in non-linear wave propagation and shock wave formation. Pulsed, planar, laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) was used as a fast rise-time, non-intrusive, temperature measurement method of the water present in the focal region. LIF thermometry is based on calibrating the temperature-dependent fluorescence intensity signal emitted by a passive dye dissolved in water when excited by a pulse of laser light. The laser beam was formed into a thin light sheet to illuminate a planar area in the HIFU focal region. The laser light sheet was oriented transverse to the acoustic axis. Cross-sectional, instantaneous temperature field measurements within the HIFU focal volume showed that the water temperature increased steadily with increasing HIFU drive voltage. Heating rates of 4000–7000°C/s were measured within the first millisecond of the HIFU burst. Increasing the length of the burst initially resulted in an increase in the water temperature within the HIFU focal spot (up to ∼3 ms), after which it steadied or slightly dropped. Acoustic streaming was measured and shown to be consistent with the reduction in heating with increased burst length due to convective cooling. LIF thermometry may thus be a viable non-invasive method for the characterization of HIFU transducers at high power intensities.     

Phased array ultrasound imaging through planar tissue layers

Conventional ultrasound imaging devices are designed based on the assumption of a homogeneous tissue medium of constant acoustic velocity = 1540 m/sec. However, the body consists of tissue layers of varying thicknesses and velocities which range from 1470 m/sec in fat to 3200 m/sec in skull bone. Refraction effects from these layers degrade ultrasound image quality. In this paper, pulse-echo ultrasound imaging is modeled as imaging an organ of interest through an intervening planar tissue layer, such as liver through fat in the abdomen or brain through skull bone in the adult head. Refraction effects from planar tissue layer interfaces are analyzed using Snell's law and measured using phantoms. We also introduce an on-line phased array correction technique based on planar tissue layers to restore ultrasound image quality. We conclude that fat/organ planar interfaces do not degrade image quality significantly. However, refraction effects at a skull/brain planar interface degrades resolution and target acquisition and introduces geometric distortion. Our plane layer phased array correction technique significantly improves image quality in phantoms through lucite aberrators and improves adult cephalic ultrasound image quality when used through the top of the adult skull. The correction technique is robust even in the presence of inaccurate estimates of skull thickness.     

The Gaussian Shear Wave in a Dispersive Medium

In “imaging the biomechanical properties of tissues,” a number of approaches analyze shear wave propagation initiated by a short radiation force push. Unfortunately, it has been experimentally observed that the displacement-versus-time curves for lossy tissues are rapidly damped and distorted in ways that can confound simple tracking approaches. This article addresses the propagation, decay and distortion of pulses in lossy and dispersive media, to derive closed-form analytic expressions for the propagating pulses. The theory identifies key terms that drive the distortion and broadening of the pulse. Furthermore, the approach taken is not dependent on any particular viscoelastic model of tissue, but instead takes a general first-order approach to dispersion. Examples with a Gaussian beam pattern and realistic dispersion parameters are given along with general guidelines for identifying the features of the distorting wave that are the most compact.     

SPECT核素骨显像对鼻咽癌骨转移特点的初步研究

目的:观察鼻咽癌(NPC)骨转移的特点;与CT对比,分析颅底骨转移病灶检测的敏感性。方法:151例 NPC SPECT~(99m)Tc-MDP全身骨显像,其中 66例作头颅正侧位骨显像及CT 扫描。结果:151 例NPC骨显像阳性98例,占64.9％;其中颅底骨阳性显示者43例,占28.5％;66例与CT对比结果,骨显像检出颅底阳性26例,占39.4％;CT 检出16例,占24.2％。结论:核素骨显像对NPC骨转移病灶诊断具有较高敏感性,对颅底病灶检测敏感性高于CT。核素骨显像对NPC分期,选择治疗方案,预后评估具有重要价值。     

Noninvasive, transcranial and localized opening of the blood-brain barrier using focused ultrasound in mice

The feasibility of blood-brain barrier (BBB) opening in the hippocampus of wild-type mice using focused ultrasound (FUS) through the intact skull and skin was investigated. Needle hydrophone measurements through ex vivo skulls revealed minimal attenuation ( approximately 18% of the pressure amplitude), a well-focused beam pattern and minute focus displacement through the parietal bone. In experiments in vivo, the brains of three mice were sonicated transcranially. Pulsed ultrasound sonications at 1.5 MHz and acoustic pressures ranging from 0.8 to 2.7 MPa were used at 20% duty cycle. Before sonication, a bolus of 10 microL of an ultrasound contrast agents (Optison) was injected intravenously. Contrast-enhanced high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (9.4 T) revealed BBB opening and allowed for the monitoring of the slow permeation of gadolinium in the hippocampus. The region of the brain where BBB opening occurred increased with the pressure amplitude. These findings thus demonstrated the feasibility of locally opening the BBB in mice using FUS through intact skull and skin and serve as the first step in determining and assessing feasibility of drug delivery to specific regions in the mouse brain using FUS.     

Ultrasonic characterization of acute renal failure

The attenuation coefficient, propagation velocity and backscattering coefficient were measured in vitro, on freshly excised, normal and functionally impaired rabbit kidneys. Subcutaneous glycerol treatment was used to introduce acute renal failure. Elevated plasma creatinine levels, measured prior to the excision of kidneys, were used as an index of the degree of renal functional impairment. Propagation velocity for the ten kidneys ranged between 1538–1575 m/s with that for the normals being 1540±4 m/s. Velocity was found to increase with increasing renal damage. The attenuation coefficient for all ten kidneys exhibited a linear frequency dependence over the range 3.5–6.5 MHz. The slope of the attenuation coefficient for the glycerol treated kidneys (0.723 dB/cm/MHz) was found to be higher than the slope for the normals (0.449 dB/cm/MHz). The frequency dependence of the backscattering coefficient was not altered by glycerol treatment leading to the postulate that modification of frequency dependent behavior of the attenuation coefficient in this experimental model is primarily due to absorption.     

Skull base, orbits, temporal bone, and cranial nerves: anatomy on MR imaging

Accurate delineation, diagnosis, and treatment planning of skull base lesions require knowledge of the complex anatomy of the skull base. Because the skull base cannot be directly evaluated, imaging is critical for the diagnosis and management of skull base diseases. Although computed tomography (CT) is excellent for outlining the bony detail, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging provides better soft tissue detail and is helpful for evaluating the adjacent meninges, brain parenchyma, and bone marrow of the skull base. Thus, CT and MR imaging are often used together for evaluating skull base lesions. This article focuses on the radiologic anatomy of the skull base pertinent to MR imaging evaluation.     

Acoustic Transmission Factor through the Rat Skull as a Function of Body Mass,Frequency and Position

In many transcranial ultrasound studies on rats, the transmission factor is assumed to be independent of animal weight and losses resulting from non-normal incidence angles of the beam are not accounted for. In this study, we measured acoustic transmission factors through 13 excised skulls of male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing between 90 and 520g, at different positions on each skull and at 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75 and 2MHz. Our results revealed that insertion loss through rat skull increases linearly with both body mass and frequency and strongly depends on the position, decreasing from the front to the back and from the midline to the lateral sides. Skull thickness also scales linearly with body mass. Reflection explains the main part of the insertion loss compared with attenuation and aberration. These data are helpful in predicting the acoustic pressure at the focus in the brain.     

Decomposition of Two-Component Ultrasound Pulses in Cancellous Bone Using Modified Least Squares Prony Method – Phantom Experiment and Simulation

Porous media such as cancellous bone often support the simultaneous propagation of two compressional waves. When small bone samples are interrogated in through-transmission with broadband sources, these two waves often overlap in time. The modified least-squares Prony's (MLSP) method was tested for decomposing a 500 kHz-center-frequency signal containing two overlapping components: one passing through a polycarbonate plate (to produce the “fast” wave) and another passing through a cancellous-bone-mimicking phantom (to produce the “slow” wave). The MLSP method yielded estimates of attenuation slopes accurate to within 7% (polycarbonate plate) and 2% (cancellous bone phantom). The MLSP method yielded estimates of phase velocities accurate to within 1.5% (both media). The MLSP method was also tested on simulated data generated using attenuation slopes and phase velocities corresponding to bovine cancellous bone. Throughout broad ranges of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the MLSP method yielded estimates of attenuation slope that were accurate to within 1.0% and estimates of phase velocity that were accurate to within 4.3% (fast wave) and 1.3% (slow wave). (E-mail: keith.wear@fda.hhs.gov).     

Acoustic impact of the human skull on transcranial photoacoustic imaging

With balanced spatial resolution, imaging depth, and functional sensitivity, photoacoustic tomography (PAT) hold great promise for human brain imaging. However, the strong acoustic attenuation and aberration of the human skull (∼8 mm thick) are longstanding technical challenges for PAT of the human brain. In this work, we numerically investigated the impacts of the stratified human skull on photoacoustic wave propagation (i.e., the forward model) and PAT image formation (i.e., the inverse model). We simulated two representative transcranial PAT implementations: photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) and photoacoustic macroscopy (PAMac). In the forward model, we simulated the detailed photoacoustic wave propagation from a point or line source through a digital human skull. The wave attenuation, refraction, mode conversation, and reverberation were thoroughly investigated. In the inverse model, we reconstructed the transcranial PACT and PAMac images of a point or line target enclosed by the human skull. Our results demonstrate that transcranial PAMac suffers mainly from wave reverberation within the skull, leading to prolonged signal duration and reduced axial resolution. Transcranial PACT is more susceptible to the skull’s acoustic distortion, mode conversion, and reverberation, which collectively lead to strong image artifacts and deteriorated spatial resolutions. We also found that PACT with a ring-shaped transducer array shows more tolerance of the skull’s adverse impacts and can provide more accurate image reconstruction. Our results suggest that incorporating the skull’s geometry and acoustic properties can improve transcranial PAT image reconstruction. We expect that our results have provided a more comprehensive understanding of the acoustic impact of the human skull on transcranial PAT.     

Pulsatile echoencephalography

The study of the systolic pulsations in amplitude or range of intracranial echoes has been the source of over 150 publications in the last two decades. The recording of pulsations in range is more meaningful and less subject to undetected artifact than recordings of amplitude pulsations. Variations in the magnitude of such pulsations largely result from change in cerebral arteriolar vasomotor tone due either to primary tissue acidosis or secondary to intracranial hypertension. The individual waveforms of such pulsations from cerebral interfaces are so variable from different echoes in the same or different individuals that their study is not useful and no information about cerebral ischaemia or cerebral hypertension can be obtained from them. Clinical information can only be obtained from continuously recording from the same echoing interface. The variable scattering of the beam by the skull means that such recordings must be made at a single recording session with a transducer fixed with respect to the skull. However recording the presence of the systolic pulse from the echoes reflected by the major cerebral arteries and measuring its transit time has resulted in clinically valuable information.

Recordings from cerebral interfaces made at a single session can show cyclic or episodic variations in cerebral volume other than those due to the cardiac pulse. They have been used to study the haemodynamic and hydrodynamic changes that occur in the normal brain and which, when excessive, cause hydrocephalus. They have not proved helpful in determining the moment of brain death when the cerebral circulation stops.     

Transcranial sound field characterization

In the scope of therapeutic ultrasound applications in the adult brain, such as sonothrombolysis in stroke, a better understanding of the intracranial acoustic properties during insonation through the temporal bone is warranted. Innovative ultrasound imaging techniques, like transcranial duplex sonography, may open new avenues to apply ultrasound for therapeutic purposes and to visually monitor the effect using the same device. The aim was to study the transcranial sound field aberrations and the changes of acoustic parameters, using a high-end duplex machine. Six cadaver skulls were insonated through the temporal bone window, using a diagnostic duplex ultrasound device. The measurements were done in a water tank, using a needle hydrophone to assess and compute acoustic parameters, such as peak intensity, peak-to-peak, peak-positive, peak-negative acoustic pressure, beam area etc. in a 2-D plane. It could be shown that the absorption and wavefront distortion effects of the temporal bone are variable among different skulls. Because of signal absorption of the bone, the mechanical index of the incident ultrasound wave drops by a factor > or =10 in most cases. However, the beam area might be increased by a factor of almost 4, because of phase aberration (i.e., defocusing). (     

The propagation of Gaussian modulated pulses in dissipative and/or dispersive media such as tissue

The interrogating pulse used in most conventional medical ultrasonic imaging systems can be approximated as a band-limited Gaussian modulated pulse. In this paper we analyze the propagation of such a pulse in an attenuating media such as tissue. We show that an initially Gaussian pulse retains its Gaussian shape during propagation provided that the medium has attenuation with a power-law dependence on frequency of between zero and two. That is, if the attenuation factor is e- alpha x, where alpha is the attenuation coefficient and x is the distance over which the pulse has traveled, then the pulse will remain Gaussian provided alpha = afp, where a is a constant, f is the frequency, and 0 less than p less than or equal to 2. This condition is certainly valid for soft tissue (p approximately 1) as well as for all other attenuating materials with which we are familiar. Although a Gaussian pulse retains its Gaussian shape in an attenuating media, it does suffer a shift in its mean frequency as well as a broadening in its shape. Here we also obtain analytical expressions relating the mean frequency shift and the pulse broadening to the attenuating properties of the medium. In contrast to other studies recently published in the literature, we consider propagation in a medium which has velocity dispersion as well as frequency dependent loss.