Ultrasound transmission

To transfer ultrasound energy to the body, a coupling medium is required to overcome the high impedance of air. The many types of coupling medium currently available for ultrasound transmission can be broadly classified as oils, water oil emulsions, aqueous gels, and ointments. 

The BBBD can be induced both in animals with the skull window and intact skull provided that adequate ultrasound transmission is achieved into the brain. 

Research at the IKV in Aachen, Germany, has shown that the measurement of ultrasound transmission time (UTT) yields a useful quantity to characterize the thermodynamic condition of the polymer melt [68]. Advantages of the UTT measurement are ... 

With ultrasound velocity tomography the local speed of ultrasound in a cross section of the subject under study is computed from a large set of ultrasound transmission times. These calculations (reconstructions) are based upon a model that describes the propagation of ultrasound in a medium. In its simplest form the ultrasonic pulses are supposed to travel along straight pathways from transmitter to receiver. The measured transmission times depends on the velocity distribution v(jc, y) in the plane of reconstruction ... 

In an early study, Greenleaf et al. [4] reported reconstructions of ultrasonic velocity from time-of-flight profiles. Since then there has been periodic activity in using ultrasound to determine the transmission properties attenuation or refractive index. 

The use of air-bome ultrasound for the excitation and reception of surface or bulk waves introduces a number of problems. The acoustic impedance mismatch which exists at the transducer/air and the air/sample interfaces is the dominant factor to be overcome in this system. Typical values for these three media are about 35 MRayls for a piezo-ceramic (PZT) element and 45 MRayls for steel, compared with just 0.0004 MRayls for air. The transmission coefficient T for energy from a medium 1 into a medium 2 is given by... 

In this paper we propose a multivariable regression approach for estimating ultrasound attenuation in composite materials by means of pulse-echo measurements, thus overcoming the problems with limited access that is the main drawback of through-transmission testing. 

The result from the work shows that we can obtain good approximations of the attenuation values using pulse echo ultrasound. This indicates that it will be possible to replace the through-transmission technique by a pulse echo technique. 

Interfacial area measurement. Knowledge of the interfacial area is indispensable in modeling two-phase flow (Dejesus and Kawaji, 1990), which determines the interphase transfer of mass, momentum, and energy in steady and transient flow. Ultrasonic techniques are used for such measurements. Since there is no direct relationship between the measurement of ultrasonic transmission and the volumetric interfacial area in bubbly flow, some estimate of the average bubble size is necessary to permit access to the volumetric interfacial area (Delhaye, 1986). In bubbly flows with bubbles several millimeters in diameter and with high void fractions, Stravs and von Stocker (1985) were apparently the first, in 1981, to propose the use of pulsed, 1- to 10-MHz ultrasound for measuring interfacial area. Independently, Amblard et al. (1983) used the same technique but at frequencies lower than 1 MHz. The volumetric interfacial area, T, is defined by (Delhaye, 1986)... 

A similar combination of ultrasound and photocatalysis has also been reported to destroy 2,4,6-trichlorophenol in aqueous solution [39]. An ultrasonic probe (22 kHz) with a uv light source (15 W) was used to examine the effect of changing such operating conditions as ultrasonic intensity, reaction temperature and uv transmission. The experiments involved using 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (100 ppm) and TiOj (0.1 g L ) and showed that the degradation rates increased with the temperature of the solution. The cumulative effect was more pronounced at lower ultrasonic intensities with little additional benefit derived at increased ultrasonic powers. 

Fig. 4.6 was obtained by Glatter et al. (1994) using SAXS, ultrasound measurements, DSC, low shear viscometry and light transmission experiments. 

The greater the difference in acoustic impedance between the two materials the greater the fraction of ultrasound reflected. This has important consequences for the design and interpretation of ultrasonic experiments. For example, to optimize the transmission of ultrasound from one material to another it is necessary to chose two materials with similar acoustic impedance. To optimize the reflection coefficient materials with very different acoustic impedance should be used. The acoustic impedance of a material is often determined by measuring the fraction of ultrasound reflected from its surface. 

Unlike SORS, the transmission geometry concept in its basic form does not offer the ability to separate layers into individual components but instead it yields, in a simple way, average-volume sample information superseding that obtainable with conventional approaches [115]. Consequently, it cannot yield the depth of the probed object. Nevertheless this information is readily available from mammography or can be obtained using ultrasound or the abovementioned SORS approach. 

The other important consideration concerns the transmission of ultrasound (and other forms of energy) from one medium to another and the importance of impedance matching . When wave energy is transferred from one medium to another then a part is transmitted and the rest reflected. The ratio of reflected to transmitted energies depends on the characteristic impedances of the two media and the transmission is total if these are matched. In the case of acoustic waves the specific impedance (Z) of a medium is given by the product of the density p and the velocity of sound v. that is... 

Ionizing radiation, microwaves, ultrasound, or hypothermia are the major physical agents that can affect the fetus via direct transmission through maternal tissues. In general, the dose required for a physical agent to cause detriment to the fetus surpasses that required to induce maternal toxicity. Mechanical impact or changes in temperature, unless extreme, are likely minimized by the hydrostatic pressure of the womb and maternal homeostatic capabilities. 

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