"Compression-only" behavior of phospholipid-coated contrast bubbles.
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.
de Jong
Nico
N
Biomedical Engineering, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. n.dejong@erasmusmc.nl
Emmer
Marcia
M
Chin
Chien Ting
CT
Bouakaz
Ayache
A
Mastik
Frits
F
Lohse
Detlef
D
Versluis
Michel
M
D003287:Contrast Media; D006801:Humans; D045423:Microbubbles; D010743:Phospholipids; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D018617:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Pulsed / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
D003287:Contrast Media; D010743:Phospholipids