Optical Characterization of High Power Acoustic Beams
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Solution Overview
Problem
High power acoustic fields, such as those used in medical High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) therapy, are difficult to measure non-invasively due to their extreme intensities, which damage measurement instrumentation, and existing testing methodologies infer non-linear high power behavior from low power, linear test results, lacking metrics for non-linear operational phenomena.
Innovation Solution
An optical system that uses a seeded immersion medium with optically detectable particles to track parameters like displacement and temperature, allowing for the non-invasive characterization of acoustic beams and modeling of high intensity focused ultrasound beams in three dimensions, enabling direct measurement of full power acoustic beams and their behavior in tissue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If measurement instrumentation is used to measure high power acoustic fields, then measurement data can be obtained, but the extreme intensities damage the measurement instrumentation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary substance (immersion medium with seed particles) that mediates between the high power acoustic field and the measurement system. The seed particles respond to acoustic radiation pressure and temperature changes, serving as a buffer that allows indirect measurement without exposing sensitive instrumentation to damaging intensities
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces direct mechanical/electrical measurement instruments with an optical measurement system. By using optical transmitters and receptors to detect particle position and temperature, the system avoids using instrumentation that would be damaged by high power acoustic fields
2Reliability
If low power testing is used to avoid instrumentation damage, then measurement safety is maintained, but high power non-linear behavior cannot be accurately measured
Solution Approach 1:
The immersion medium with seed particles acts as an intermediary that allows the system to measure high power acoustic fields indirectly. The particles respond to the full power acoustic radiation pressure and temperature, enabling accurate high power measurement without exposing instrumentation to damaging intensities
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from direct acoustic field measurement to optical measurement of particle properties (position, temperature). This dimensional change allows measurement of high power acoustic phenomena through optical parameters that are not damaged by the acoustic intensity
3Ease of operation
If linear low power test results are used to infer high power behavior, then testing can be performed safely, but accurate metrics for non-linear operational phenomena are lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The seed particles in the immersion medium serve as an intermediary that directly responds to high power acoustic fields. By measuring particle displacement and temperature at full power, the system obtains direct information about non-linear phenomena rather than inferring from linear low power tests
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces indirect inference methods with direct optical measurement of particle behavior under high power conditions. This substitution enables capture of non-linear phenomenon metrics that cannot be obtained through linear extrapolation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables non-destructive, real-time characterization of high power acoustic beams, providing accurate metrics for non-linear operational phenomena and improving the understanding of HIFU device behavior, avoiding the need to infer high power behavior from low power test results.
Implementation Method 1
at least one optical transmitter that illuminates at least some of the plurality of seed particles; at least one optical receptor to track at least one optically-detectable parameter
Implementation Method 2
The immersant may be acoustically-streamable (i.e., flowable under acoustic radiation pressure and temperature), and the at least one optical receptor may track displacement of at least some illuminated seed particles
Implementation Method 3
the at least one optical receptor may track temperature of at least some illuminated seed particles to generate an immersant temperature map
Data Source
AI summary
A system for optically characterizing an acoustic beam generally includes an immersant, which is an immersion medium seeded with a plurality of seed particles that respond to illumination with fluorescence indicative of at least one parameter of the immersant such as flow or temperature. Optical transmitters illuminate the immersant slicewise, and optical receptors receive the fluorescence in order to generate a three-dimensional map of the parameter over time. A processor back-calculates one or more characteristics of an acoustic beam that results in the map. The processor initially generates a behavior model of an acoustic beam propagating in the immersant by utilizing initial guesses for the characteristics. The initial guess model is compared to the map, and an optimization routine is used to refine the initial guesses. The process repeats iteratively with refined guesses until the difference between the model and the map is minimized.