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Although several imaging modalities have been utilized to observe tendons, assessing injured tendons by tracking the healing response over time with ultrasound is a desirable method which is yet to be realized. This study examines the use of ultrasound for non-invasive monitoring of the healing process of Achilles tendons after surgical transection. The overall extracellular matrix content of the transection site is monitored and quantified as a function of time. B-mode images (built from successive A-scan signatures) of the injury site were obtained and compared to biomechanical properties. A quantitative measure of tendon healing using the extracellular matrix (ECM) content of the injury site was analyzed using linear regression with all biomechanical measures. Contralateral tendons were used as controls. The trend in the degree of ECM regrowth in the 4 weeks following complete transection of excised tendons was found to be most closely paralleled with that of linear stiffness (R2 = 0.987, p

Anomalies present in the hard tissue of teeth are manifested in several ways such as cavities, decay, and caries. The most extensively and commonly used diagnostic modality for the assessment of these abnormalities are x-rays. Unfortunately, these rays are harmful to the human body and may be a source of health risk. This work describes the development of a new testing technique that uses ultrasound designed to complement, or even replace, existing tools used in dentistry applications. Previous studies have shown several models of acoustic field simulation, propagation, and interaction of ultrasound with the layers of several tooth structures. In this paper, experimental data is gathered for the purpose of assessing the viability of this technique in an attempt to detect cavities and fractures in extracted human teeth. A low-intensity, high-frequency ultrasonic set-up is used in all in vitro tests. Four cases have been examined: an intact tooth, a tooth containing an amalgam restoration and a natural surface fissure, a tooth containing a machine side-drilled hole that mimics a cavity, and a calcified tooth--a rare naturally occurring condition. Upon analysis of the obtained A-scans and B-scans, it is verified that these experimental measurements confirm predictions reported in earlier finite element and transmission line studies and suggest that ultrasound is a valuable tool which has the potential to be an addition to, or even an improvement upon, current dental imaging systems.

Ultrasound is used extensively in the medical field for the detection and characterization of a variety of features in the human body. Finite element models used to understand ultrasonic wave propagation in teeth have been developed so that ultrasound techniques could be realized in dentistry. This paper presents a hypothesis that underlies one possible design of an ultrasonic tool that can be used in a clinical environment, as well as several models that describe acoustic field simulation, propagation, and interaction with the layers of several tooth structures. A complete PSpice model of a single-element transducer based on Redwood's version of Mason's equivalent circuit, a focusing lens, and a multi-layer tooth structure is used to illustrate the validity of this hypothesis. Transmission line theory is employed as a basis for the models of the piezoceramic, the lens, and the different tooth layers. The results clearly depict the transmission and reflection of the ultrasonic waves as they travel through the layers within the tooth structure and point out the noticeable similarity to longitudinal L-wave signatures produced by axisymmetric finite element models presented in earlier studies.

Many innovations in the modern testing of materials make use of ultrasound. As a result, ultrasound has become extremely important to nondestructive testing of complete engineered systems. However, despite the fact that ultrasound inspection techniques are based on well-established principles, a few key problems pertaining to their application still remain unresolved. One of these problems deals with materials having complex geometries, often making the scanning/data collection processes time consuming. Consequently, fast and accurate mechanisms for testing components with awkward configurations have been the focus of attention in modern nondestructive testing research. In this paper, the data independent beamformer is studied as a potential method to reduce ultrasonic data acquisition time. The finite element method (FEM) is used as a testbed to mimic the ultrasound measurements by simulating the action of a transducer array. Tests reveal that when the weights of the interpolating filters (beamformers) are adjusted properly, they can indeed be used to predict A-scan signals from a data set produced by a transducer moving in a line-scan direction at nonuniform increments; hence, reducing the data acquisition time. The same filter weights also predict accurately A-scan signals from another data set produced by the same transducer moving at nonuniform increments for a different material geometry. >