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An approach to assess the mechanical properties of a viscoelastic medium using laser-induced microbubbles is presented. To measure mechanical properties of the medium, dynamics of a laser-induced cavitation microbubble in viscoelastic medium under acoustic radiation force was investigated. An objective lens with a 1.13 numerical aperture and an 8.0 mm working distance was designed to focus a 532 nm wavelength nanosecond pulsed laser beam and to create a microbubble at the desired location. A 3.5 MHz ultrasound transducer was used to generate acoustic radiation force to excite a laser-induced microbubble. Motion of the microbubble was tracked using a 25 MHz imaging transducer. Agreement between a theoretical model of bubble motion in a viscoelastic medium and experimental measurements was demonstrated. Young’s modulii reconstructed using the laser-induced microbubble approach were compared with those measured using a direct uniaxial method over the range from 0.8 to 13 kPa. The results indicate good agreement between methods. Thus, the proposed approach can be used to assess the mechanical properties of a viscoelastic medium.

Acoustic radiation force on a scatterer in tissue depends on the compressibility and shear modulus of both the tissue and the scatterer. This force is related to the monopole and dipole scattering coefficients. The finite shear modulus of the tissue decreases the radiation force in comparison with the force exerted on the same scatterer surrounded by liquid. Shear moduli for soft tissue range from several kilopascals (breast, liver) to tens of kilopascals and higher for cornea, cartilage, and cancerous tissue. As reported previously, the radiation force on a bubble in tissue having 100 kPa shear modulus is 50% less than if the bubble is in water. This difference decreases for scatterers with finite shear moduli, examples of which are reported here. Additionally, displacement of a scatterer due to radiation force is inversely proportional to the shear modulus of the tissue, which permits measurement of the latter. Experiments demonstrating this technique are reviewed. In these experiments, the radiation force is applied to a gas microbubble produced by laser-induced optical breakdown, while displacement of the microbubble is measured by high-frequency ultrasound as a function of time. Results are reported for tissue-mimicking phantoms and animal crystalline lenses in vitro.

According to the most widely accepted theory of presbyopia, the age-related loss of accommodation is attributed to Young's modulus changes in the lens. Previously, we have developed an approach to measure the mechanical properties of viscoelastic medium using microbubbles and acoustic radiation force. In this study, we tested this technique to assess the mechanical properties of bovine lenses ex-vivo. An impulsive acoustic radiation force was applied to laser-induced microbubbles created with nanosecond laser pulses at different locations in the lens. An acoustic radiation force with typical duration less than 150 μs was generated by a 3.5 MHz transducer. For accurate spatio-temporal measurements of the microbubble's displacement, a custom-made ultrasound system consisting of two 25 MHz transducers was built. The first transducer emitted a train of pulses and the other transducer received the train of echoes reflected from the microbubble. The developed system was operating at 400 kHz pulse repetition fre...

Measurements of mechanical properties of tissue can be used in many applications ranging from disease diagnosis to treatment planning and monitoring. In this paper, we present a technique to measure mechanical properties of the tissue undergoing laser surgery during which the cavitation bubble is introduced. Utilizing the laser‐induced microbubble, the mechanical properties of the tissue were assessed by measuring displacement and oscillations of the bubble under applied acoustic radiation force. The bubbles were produced using a nanosecond pulsed laser operating at 532 nm. Using the lens (0.92 numerical aperture, 11.5‐mm focal length), the laser beam was focused inside the gelatin to create microbubbles ranging from 80‐ to 250‐cm diameter. The bubbles were then interrogated using acoustic pulses of different durations and amplitudes. First, the size of each laser‐induced microbubble was estimated by measuring the laser‐produced shock wave and pulse‐echo ultrasound signals. Then, a 1.5‐MHz transducer gene...

An accurate assessment of mechanical properties of tissue is desired in many applications ranging from biomedical research to medical diagnostics and surgery. Currently, several methods to assess shear elasticity of tissue are available while the techniques to measure tissue viscosity are not yet fully developed. However, shear viscosity is an indicative functional parameter of soft tissue. In addition, the local changes of shear viscosity can affect the accuracy of shear elasticity assessment. Therefore, in this study, an acoustic radiation force approach to assess both shear elasticity and viscosity of tissue is developed. Such approach is based on monitoring of the spatio‐temporal displacement of an ultrasound inhomogeneity in response to applied impulsive radiation force. In experiments, a 2‐mm‐diameter solid sphere was embedded into the gel phantoms with varying shear elasticity and viscosity. The sphere was then perturbed using acoustic radiation force produced by a single‐element focused ultrasound...

Lasers are used in many biomedical and clinical applications, ranging from diagnosis to therapy. In eye microsurgery, for example, a pulsed laser beam produces a localized surgical effect through the formation of a cavitation microbubble as a result of tissue photodisruption occurring in the focal zone. However, to insure successful presurgical planning, surgical procedure, and postoperative stages of pathology treatment, the mechanical properties of the tissue must be analyzed before selective laser intervention. Since microbubbles are already produced during laser surgery, we have developed an integrated approach utilizing these laser‐induced microbubbles as reporters of tissue viscoelasticity. Specifically, we have derived a general model of gas bubble dynamics in viscoelastic media to describe both translation and oscillations of the microbubble exposed to the acoustic radiation force. Furthermore, an ultrasound method based on temporal measurement of passive acoustic emission from cavity during laser...

The effective management of cancer requires early yet reliable detection, localization, and diagnosis. Therefore, there is a definite and urgent clinical need for an imaging technique that is widely available, is simple to perform, is safe, and that can detect and adequately diagnose cancer. In this paper we present a hybrid imaging technology based on fusion of complementary imaging modalities ultrasound, optoacoustics, and elastography to take full advantage of the many synergistic features of these modalities and thus to significantly improve sensitivity and specificity of cancer imaging. To evaluate our approach, numerical and experimental studies were performed using heterogeneous phantoms where ultrasonic, optical, and viscoelastic properties of the materials were chosen to closely mimic soft tissue. The results of this study suggest that combined ultrasound‐based imaging is possible and can provide more accurate, reliable and earlier detection and diagnosis of tissue pathology. In addition, monitoring of cancer treatment and guidance of tissue biopsy are possible with combined imaging system. Practical and experimental aspects of combined imaging will be discussed with emphasis on data capture and signal/image processing algorithms. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the advantages, limitations, and potential clinical applications of the combined imaging technique.