0000000000210565

AUTHOR

Risto Myllylä

Obstructing propagation of interfering modes improves detection of guided waves in coated bone models

Interference due to wave propagation in soft tissue that covers the bone is a major challenge to in vivo assessment of the fundamental flexural guided wave (FFGW) in bone. To improve signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) we propose to obstruct the propagation of interfering modes by locally deforming the coating by external mechanical compression. This approach was modeled by 2D finite-element transient domain (FEMTD) simulations in a fluid-coated (7 mm) solid plate (3 mm). The fluid layer mimics the soft tissue that covers the bone. A single emitter or a 6-element phased array excited ultrasound pulses at 50 kHz on the surface of the coating, and a receiver array was placed on the surface, 20…

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Depletion of carbon nanotube depositions and tube realignment in the spreading of sessile drops

Abstract We studied spreading of drops of water and dilute alcohol on multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT) depositions. These deposits consisted of individual arc-discharge synthesized MWNTs and irregular amorphous carbon nanoparticles on hydrophilically rendered silicon substrates. The mobile circular contact line of a spreading drop created an annular shape on the deposit, where some of the MWNTs and the amorphous nanoparticles in particular were largely depleted. The effect was strongly dependent on the hydrophilicity of the substrate. Most of the MWNTs were not only left within the annuli, but were also apparently reoriented by their interaction with the passing contact line. Our results im…

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Photo-acoustic phase-delayed excitation of guided waves in coated bone phantoms

Photo-acoustic skeletal quantitative ultrasound enables assessment of the fundamental flexural guided wave (FFGW) propagating in bone. This mode, consistent with the F(1,1) tube mode can now be measured through a coating of soft tissue. Interference due to ultrasound propagation in the soft tissue surrounding the bone is reduced by using phase-delayed ultrasound excitation. Photo-acoustic phase-delayed excitation was done on five axisymmetric bone phantoms (1-5 mm wall thickness), coated by a 5 mm thick soft-tissue mimicking layer. A fiber head comprising a linear array of four optical fibers (400 μm diameter), illuminated by pulsed laser diodes (905 nm wavelength) generated ultrasound. Thi…

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Detection of local specular gloss and surface roughness from black prints

A combination of optical and tomographic imaging techniques for inspection of local surface roughness and specular gloss of black prints and coated paper are introduced. A diffractive optical-element-based glossmeter (DOG) and a low-coherence interferometer (LCI) were used to obtain local information about the print in terms of topographic and gloss maps. X-ray microcomputed tomography (μCT) was used to obtain 3D local structural information of the coated paper. Gloss and topographic maps were used to determine statistical gloss and roughness parameters. These parameters were useful when analysing the surface condition of prints and coated paper. We found an orientation-dependent gloss slop…

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Coded excitation speeds up the detection of the fundamental flexural guided wave in coated tubes

The fundamental flexural guided wave (FFGW) permits ultrasonic assessment of the wall thickness of solid waveguides, such as tubes or, e.g., long cortical bones. Recently, an optical non-contact method was proposed for ultrasound excitation and detection with the aim of facilitating the FFGW reception by suppressing the interfering modes from the soft coating. This technique suffers from low SNR and requires iterative physical scanning across the source-receiver distance for 2D-FFT analysis. This means that SNR improvement achieved by temporal averaging becomes time-consuming (several minutes) which reduces the applicability of the technique, especially in time-critical applications such as…

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Photo-acoustic excitation and optical detection of fundamental flexural guided wave in coated bone phantoms.

Abstract Photo-acoustic (PA) imaging was combined with skeletal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) for assessment of human long bones. This approach permitted low-frequency excitation and detection of ultrasound so as to efficiently receive the thickness-sensitive fundamental flexural guided wave (FFGW) through a coating of soft tissue. The method was tested on seven axisymmetric bone phantoms, whose 1- to 5-mm wall thickness and 16-mm diameter mimicked those of the human radius. Phantoms were made of a composite material and coated with a 2.5- to 7.5-mm layer of soft material that mimicked soft tissue. Ultrasound was excited with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser at 1064-nm wavelength and received on the s…

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Photo-acoustic excitation and detection of guided ultrasonic waves in bone samples covered by a soft coating layer

Photo-acoustic (PA) excitation was combined with skeletal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) for multi-mode ultrasonic assessment of human long bones. This approach permits tailoring of the ultrasonic excitation and detection so as to efficiently detect the fundamental flexural guided wave (FFGW) through a coating of soft tissue. FFGW is a clinically relevant indicator of cortical thickness. An OPO laser with tunable optical wavelength, was used to excite a photo-acoustic source in the shaft of a porcine femur. Ultrasonic signals were detected by a piezoelectric transducer, scanning along the long axis of the bone, 20-50 mm away from the source. Five femurs were measured without and with a soft …

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Tailoring the excitation of fundamental flexural guide waves in coated bone by phase-delayed array: Two-dimensional simulations

The fundamental flexural guided wave (FFGW) enables ultrasonic assessment of cortical bone thickness. In vivo, it is challenging to detect this mode, as its power ratio with respect to disturbing ultrasound is reduced by soft tissue covering the bone. A phase-delayed ultrasound source is proposed to tailor the FFGW excitation in order to improve its power ratio. This situation is analyzed by 2D finite-element simulations. The soft tissue coating (7-mm thick) was simulated as a fluid covering an elastic plate (bone, 2–6 mm thick). A six-element array of emitters on top of the coating was excited by 50-kHz tone bursts so that each emitter was appropriately delayed from the previous one. Respo…

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