Speaker
Description
Background
In brain ultrasound imaging, the high impedance barrier presented by the skull is a significant challenge, as it impedes the transmission of acoustic waves into the skull interior. To address this issue, the utilization of a Fabry-Perot resonance-tailoring panel (RTP) placed in front of the skull can be employed to enhance sound wave transmission through the skull by manipulating multiple scattering interactions between the RTP and the skull.
Method
To validate the effectiveness of our method, we conducted two simulations using the acoustic module of COMSOL MULTYPHYSICS 6.1 at a frequency of 500kHz. The simulation domain was filled with water as the background material. The first simulation aimed to demonstrate the transmittance of our method, employing two parallel panels. One panel, with a width of 1.00mm, represented the skull material, while the other, with a width of 0.17mm, represented steel. The gap between the two panels was set at 0.228mm. The second simulation aims to obtain simulation data close to reality, employing a two-dimensional model that mimics the cross-sectional view of the brain, incorporating an annular structure external to the cranial vault to symbolize the presence of RTP.
Result
The results demonstrate that without the implementation of RTP, the ultrasound transmittance is 31.30%. After the implementation of RTP, there is a significant improvement in ultrasound transmittance, reaching 99.95%, and the obtained signal exhibits no distortion.
Conclusion
In brain ultrasound imaging, the transmission of acoustic waves is impeded by the presence of the skull, while this study has substantiated the efficacy of RTP in enhancing the transmission of ultrasound signals. The introduction of RTP enables the overcoming of the high impedance barrier imposed by cranial bones, suggesting the potential application of RTP in future brain ultrasound imaging.
