Single microbubble response using pulse sequences: initial results.

The study of acoustic scattering by single microbubbles has the potential to offer improved signal processing techniques. A microacoustic system that employs a hydrodynamically-focused flow was used to detect radiofrequency (RF) backscatter from single microbubbles. RF data were collected using a commercial scanner. Results are presented for two agents, namely Definity (Lantheus Medical Imaging, N. Billerica, MA, USA) and biSphere (Point Biomedical Corp, San Carlos, CA, USA). The agents were insonified with amplitude-modulated pulses, and it was observed in both agents that a subpopulation of microbubbles did not produce a measurable echo from the first-half amplitude pulse, but did produce a response from the full amplitude pulse and from a subsequent half amplitude pulse. The number of microbubbles in this subpopulation was seen to increase with increasing transmit amplitude. These results do not bear out the simple theory of microbubble-pulse sequence interaction and invite a reassessment of signal processing approaches.

[1]  C. Chin,et al.  Pulse inversion Doppler: a new method for detecting nonlinear echoes from microbubble contrast agents , 1999, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control.

[2]  M. Versluis,et al.  Ultrasound-induced gas release from contrast agent microbubbles , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control.

[3]  Michael S. Hughes,et al.  Frequency and concentration dependence of the backscatter coefficient of the ultrasound contrast agent Albunex , 1998 .

[4]  Nico de Jong,et al.  Ultrasound-induced encapsulated microbubble phenomena. , 2004, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[5]  A. Klibanov,et al.  Detection of individual microbubbles of an ultrasound contrast agent: fundamental and pulse inversion imaging. , 2002, Academic radiology.

[6]  L. Masotti,et al.  Transient subharmonic and ultraharmonic acoustic emission during dissolution of free gas bubbles , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control.

[7]  F Forsberg,et al.  Quantitative acoustic characterization of a new surfactant-based ultrasound contrast agent. , 1997, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[8]  W N McDicken,et al.  Nanomechanical probing of microbubbles using the atomic force microscope. , 2007, Ultrasonics.

[9]  K. Shung,et al.  Ultrasonic characterization of AlbunexR, a new contrast agent , 1990 .

[10]  Vassilis Sboros,et al.  Response of contrast agents to ultrasound. , 2008, Advanced drug delivery reviews.

[11]  V. Uhlendorf,et al.  Nonlinear acoustical response of coated microbubbles in diagnostic ultrasound , 1994, 1994 Proceedings of IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium.

[12]  D. Lohse,et al.  Sound scattering and localized heat deposition of pulse-driven microbubbles , 2000, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[13]  E. Wisner,et al.  The effect of size on the acoustic response of polymer-shelled contrast agents. , 2005, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[14]  K. Vokurka,et al.  On Rayleigh's model of a freely oscillating bubble. I. Basic relations , 1985 .

[15]  Bernhard Wolfrum,et al.  Observations of pressure-wave-excited contrast agent bubbles in the vicinity of cells , 2002 .

[16]  J. Gorce,et al.  Influence of Bubble Size Distribution on the Echogenicity of Ultrasound Contrast Agents: A Study of SonoVue™ , 2000, Investigative radiology.

[17]  F Forsberg,et al.  Ultrasonic characterization of the nonlinear properties of contrast microbubbles. , 2000, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[18]  Harald Becher,et al.  Handbook of Contrast Echocardiography , 2000, Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

[19]  W. O’Brien.  Ultrasound-biophysics mechanisms. , 2007, Progress in biophysics and molecular biology.

[20]  Nico de Jong,et al.  SCATTERING PROPERTIES OF ENCAPSULATED GAS BUBBLES AT HIGH ULTRASOUND PRESSURES , 1999 .

[21]  Nico de Jong,et al.  Ultrasound-induced microbubble coalescence. , 2004, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[22]  P. Tortoli,et al.  Method for Microbubble Characterization Using Primary Radiation Force , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control.

[23]  A. Klibanov,et al.  Detection of Individual Microbubbles of Ultrasound Contrast Agents: Imaging of Free-Floating and Targeted Bubbles , 2004, Investigative radiology.

[24]  W N McDicken,et al.  The dependence of ultrasound contrast agents backscatter on acoustic pressure: theory versus experiment. , 2002, Ultrasonics.

[25]  N de Jong,et al.  Ultrasound scattering properties of Albunex microspheres. , 1993, Ultrasonics.

[26]  Detlef Lohse,et al.  A model for large amplitude oscillations of coated bubbles accounting for buckling and rupture , 2005 .

[27]  Vassilis Sboros,et al.  Absolute measurement of ultrasonic backscatter from single microbubbles. , 2005, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[28]  N de Jong,et al.  Absorption and scatter of encapsulated gas filled microspheres: theoretical considerations and some measurements. , 1992, Ultrasonics.

[29]  V. Newhouse,et al.  Second harmonic characteristics of the ultrasound contrast agents albunex and FSO69. , 1997, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[30]  K V Ramnarine,et al.  Understanding the limitations of ultrasonic backscatter measurements from microbubble populations. , 2002, Physics in medicine and biology.

[31]  S. L. Bridal,et al.  Ultrasonic contrast agent shell rupture detected by inertial cavitation and rebound signals , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control.

[32]  R M Lang,et al.  Combined Assessment of Myocardial Perfusion and Regional Left Ventricular Function by Analysis of Contrast-Enhanced Power Modulation Images , 2001, Circulation.

[33]  W N McDicken,et al.  Contrast agent stability: a continuous B-mode imaging approach. , 2001, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[34]  Nico de Jong,et al.  The onset of microbubble vibration. , 2007, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[35]  W. McDicken,et al.  An in vitro study of a microbubble contrast agent using a clinical ultrasound imaging system. , 2004, Physics in medicine and biology.

[36]  W N McDicken,et al.  The behaviour of individual contrast agent microbubbles. , 2003, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[37]  L. Hoff,et al.  Oscillations of polymeric microbubbles: effect of the encapsulating shell , 2000, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[38]  Nico de Jong,et al.  High-speed optical observations of contrast agent destruction. , 2005, Ultrasound in medicine & biology.

[39]  W. McDicken,et al.  Acoustic Rayleigh scattering at individual micron-sized bubbles , 2007 .

[40]  L. Masotti,et al.  Stable and transient subharmonic emissions from isolated contrast agent microbubbles , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control.

[41]  Dhiman Chatterjee,et al.  Characterization of ultrasound contrast microbubbles using in vitro experiments and viscous and viscoelastic interface models for encapsulation. , 2005, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.