title: "Compression-only" behavior of phospholipid-coated contrast bubbles.
abstract: Ultrasound contrast agents oscillate approximately linearly up to a certain pressure range where nonlinearity sets in. Nonlinear microbubble oscillations are exploited in ultrasound pulse-echo imaging as this improves the contrast-to-tissue ratio. Here we report the observation of a highly nonlinear response of phospholipid-coated contrast agents at pressures as low as 50 kPa, termed "compression-only" behavior, where the microbubbles only compress, yet hardly expand. Time-resolved bubble dynamics recorded through ultra high-speed imaging revealed that nearly 40% of the coated bubbles show "compression-only" behavior.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. n.dejong@erasmusmc.nl
authors.forename: Nico
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: de Jong
authors.forename: Marcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Emmer
authors.forename: Chien Ting
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: Ayache
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bouakaz
authors.forename: Frits
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mastik
authors.forename: Detlef
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lohse
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Versluis
mesh_terms: D003287:Contrast Media; D006801:Humans; D045423:Microbubbles; D010743:Phospholipids; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D018617:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Pulsed / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D010743:Phospholipids