Steady state unfocused circular aperture beam patterns in nonattenuating and attenuating fluids

Tissue mimicking materials in image-guided needle-based interventions: A review

Image-guided interventions are widely employed in clinical medicine, which brings significant revolution in healthcare in recent years. However, it is impossible for medical trainees to experience the image-guided interventions physically in patients due to the lack of certificated skills. Therefore, training phantoms, which are normally tissue mimicking materials, are widely used in medical research, training, and quality assurance. This review focuses on the tissue mimicking materials used in image-guided needle-based interventions. In this case, we need to investigate the microstructure characteristics and mechanical properties (for needle intervention), optical properties and acoustical properties (for imaging) of these training phantoms to compare with the related properties of human real tissues. The widely used base materials, additives and the corresponding concentrations of the training phantoms are summarized from the literatures in recent ten years. The microstructure characteristics, mechanical behavior, optical properties and acoustical properties of the tissue mimicking materials are investigated, accompanied with the common experimental methods, apparatus and theoretical algorithm. The influence of the concentrations of the base materials and additives on these characteristics are compared and classified. In this review, we assess a comprehensive overview of the existing techniques with the main accomplishments, and limitations as well as recommendations for tissue mimicking materials used in image-guided needle-based interventions.

Spatial averaging effects of hydrophone on field characterization of planar transducer using Fresnel approximation

The purpose of this work was to improve the existing models that allow spatial averaging effects of piezoelectric hydrophones to be accounted for. The model derived in the present study is valid for a planar source and was verified using transducers operating at 5 and 20MHz. It is based on Fresnel approximation and enables corrections for both on-axis and off-axis measurements. A single-integral approximate formula for the axial acoustic pressure was derived, and the validity of the Fresnel approximation in the near field of the planar transducer was examined. The numerical results obtained using 5 and 20MHz planar transmitters with an effective diameter of 12.7mm showed that the derived model could account for spatial averaging effects to within 0.2% with Beissner's exact integral (Beissner, 1981), for k(a+b)2≫π (where k is the circular wavenumber, and a and b are the effective radii of the transmitter and hydrophone, respectively). The field distributions along the acoustic axis and the beam directivity patterns are also included in the model. The spatial averaging effects of the hydrophone were generally observed to cause underestimation of the absolute pressure amplitudes of the acoustic beam, and overestimation of the cross-sectional size of the beam directivity pattern. However, the cross-sectional size of the directivity pattern was also found to be underestimated in the "far zone" (beyond Y0=a(2)/λ) of the transmitter. The results of this study indicate that the spatial averaging effect on the beam directivity pattern is negligible for π(γ(2)+4γ)s≪1 (where γ=b/a, and s is the normalized distance to the planar transducer).

Paraffin-gel tissue-mimicking material for ultrasound-guided needle biopsy phantom

Paraffin-gel waxes have been investigated as new soft tissue-mimicking materials for ultrasound-guided breast biopsy training. Breast phantoms were produced with a broad range of acoustical properties. The speed of sound for the phantoms ranged from 1425.4 ± 0.6 to 1480.3 ± 1.7 m/s at room temperature. The attenuation coefficients were easily controlled between 0.32 ± 0.27 dB/cm and 2.04 ± 0.65 dB/cm at 7.5 MHz, depending on the amount of carnauba wax added to the base material. The materials do not suffer dehydration and provide adequate needle penetration, with a Young's storage modulus varying between 14.7 ± 0.2 kPa and 34.9 ± 0.3 kPa. The phantom background material possesses long-term stability and can be employed in a supine position without changes in geometry. These results indicate that paraffin-gel waxes may be promising materials for training radiologists in ultrasound biopsy procedures.

Steady state spherically focused, circular aperture beam patterns

This review was written to aid ultrasonic investigators using spherically focused transducers. It introduces a new direct method for computing steady state focused beam patterns on personal computers in nonattenuating and attenuating fluids and tissues. The method results in single integral expressions for uniform transducer excitation that can easily be altered for nonuniform surface excitation (apodization) or focused ring transducers. Procedures for verifying the accuracy of the derived equations are demonstrated. It is shown that beam diffraction errors are larger the higher the fluid or tissue attenuation. An experimental procedure is presented for measuring the effective focal length and effective aperture size of a spherically focused transducer with a single experimental measurement in a fluid with known acoustic velocity. Procedures are suggested for reducing the errors caused by beam diffraction in fluid attenuation measurements, avoiding them entirely or estimating their magnitude when they cannot be avoided.