On the acoustic properties of vaporized submicron perfluorocarbon droplets.
The acoustic characteristics of microbubbles created from vaporized submicron perfluorocarbon droplets with fluorosurfactant coating are examined. Utilizing ultra-high-speed optical imaging, the acoustic response of individual microbubbles to low-intensity diagnostic ultrasound was observed on clinically relevant time scales of hundreds of milliseconds after vaporization. It was found that the vaporized droplets oscillate non-linearly and exhibit a resonant bubble size shift and increased damping relative to uncoated gas bubbles due to the presence of coating material. Unlike the commercially available lipid-coated ultrasound contrast agents, which may exhibit compression-only behavior, vaporized droplets may exhibit expansion-dominated oscillations. It was further observed that the non-linearity of the acoustic response of the bubbles was comparable to that of SonoVue microbubbles. These results suggest that vaporized submicron perfluorocarbon droplets possess the acoustic characteristics necessary for their potential use as ultrasound contrast agents in clinical practice.
Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: reznik@ohsu.edu.
Nikita
N
Reznik
Physics of Fluids Group and MIRA Institute of Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Guillaume
G
Lajoinie
Physics of Fluids Group and MIRA Institute of Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Oleksandr
O
Shpak
Physics of Fluids Group and MIRA Institute of Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Erik C
EC
Gelderblom
Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Ross
R
Williams
Biomedical Engineering Thoraxcenter, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Nico
N
de Jong
Physics of Fluids Group and MIRA Institute of Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Michel
M
Versluis
Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Peter N
PN
Burns
D000162:Acoustics; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000737:chemistry*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000737:chemistry*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D045423:Microbubbles; D014835:Volatilization
D003287:Contrast Media; D005466:Fluorocarbons
Droplet vaporization; High-speed imaging; Microbubble characterization; Perfluorocarbon droplets; Ultrasound contrast agents