The feasibility of pulse compression by nonlinear effective bandwidth extension

Feasibility of low-frequency ultrasound imaging using pulse compressed parametric ultrasound

When using high-frequency (HF) ultrasound in sonography, attenuation due to the viscosity of the medium limits the available imaging depth, and strong reflection and scattering from hard tissue, such as bone, render biological diagnosis very difficult. In order to resolve these problems, the feasibility of low-frequency (LF) parametric ultrasound imaging with high directivity was explored in the present study. A pulse compression technique was applied to chirp-modulated parametric ultrasound waves in the frequency band of 100-500 kHz generated from modulated primary ultrasound waves with a center frequency of 2.8 MHz in order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Low-frequency ultrasound images of brass rods obtained using pulse compressed parametric ultrasound exhibit accurate target distances, a 3-mm range resolution, which agrees well with the theoretical value, and an 8-dB improvement in SNR. Parametric ultrasound imaging with pulse compression makes easy to separate overlapping targets in comparison with HF ultrasound imaging, and indicates the image with brightness independent of distance in comparison with directly radiated LF ultrasound imaging. These results reveal that pulse compressed LF parametric ultrasound is not only a useful method for improving the SNR and providing accurate distance measurements, but also enables imaging of overlapping targets.

Increasing the sonoporation efficiency of targeted polydisperse microbubble populations using chirp excitation

The therapeutic use of microbubbles for targeted drug or gene delivery is a highly active area of research. Phospholipid- encapsulated microbubbles typically have a polydisperse size distribution over the 1 to 10 μm range and can be functionalized for molecular targeting and loaded with drugcarrying liposomes. Sonoporation through the generation of shear stress on the cell membrane by microbubble oscillations is one mechanism that results in pore formation in the cell membrane and can improve drug delivery. A microbubble oscillating at its resonant frequency would generate maximum shear stress on a membrane. However, because of the polydisperse nature of phospholipid microbubbles, a range of resonant frequencies would exist in a single population. In this study, the use of linear chirp excitations was compared with equivalent duration and acoustic pressure tone excitations when measuring the sonoporation efficiency of targeted microbubbles on human colorectal cancer cells. A 3 to 7 MHz chirp had the greatest sonoporation efficiency of 26.9 ± 5.6%, compared with 16.4 ± 1.1% for the 1.32 to 3.08 MHz chirp. The equivalent 2.2- and 5-MHz tone excitations have efficiencies of 12.8 ± 2.1% and 15.6 ± 1.1%, respectively, which were all above the efficiency of 4.1 ± 3.1% from the control exposure.

Pulse compression in a time variant system with application to ultrasonic vibrometry

Pulse compression is normally applied only to time-invariant systems, as the variation of a system's properties during its interrogation violates assumptions of the compression process. However, there is an exact solution to the pulse-compression problem when the time variance satisfies two criteria, which are the same as those required for the operation of an ultrasonic vibrometer in the context of a tissue elastography system. One is that the variations be very small in comparison with the wavelength of the interrogating ultrasound. The other is that the bandwidth of the variations be within one Nyquist band as sampled by the periodic interrogation signal. The solution to this problem involves a step-wise interpolation of the static pulse-compression transfer function in the frequency domain. This technique, in conjunction with the selection of an appropriate interrogation signal, offers significant advantages in measurement time or measurement resolution for an ultrasonic vibrometer limited by additive noise at the receiver. The characteristics of optimal interrogation signals for this technique are the signal's crest factor, spectral energy distribution, and phasing. These relate to the intended compression pulse, the noise, and the static response of the system. The technique has been demonstrated analytically, experimentally, and with numerical models.