Ultrasonic spectroscopy system for biomedical material and tissue characterization

超声光谱系统将由本研究经费购买的超声脉冲发生器/接收器和机械平移台组成。该系统将由申请人设计和建造。它支持申请人的发现基金（DG）研究计划（2007-2011），题为“压电和超声波传感器及非侵入性生物医学监测和诊断技术”。在DG计划中，超声探头，算法，数字信号处理技术，以及用于从测量的生物组织弹性特性中构建超声图像的计算机软件被开发出来。生物医学材料和组织的粘弹性特性通常取决于超声频率和温度。因此，需要使用超声纵波和横波同时测量温度来测量它们的复合弹性常数，以便准确评估它们的粘弹性特性。利用该拨款建立的超声波光谱系统将用于创建生物医学材料和组织的粘弹性特性数据库，通过使用申请人开发的探针和技术测量其超声波传播特性（作为超声波频率和温度的函数）。该数据库可为组织的弹性成像、病变组织的临床诊断、组织表征和新型生物医学材料的开发提供有用的信息。此外，组织特性作为温度的函数将为研究热疗的治愈程度提供工具，热疗是癌症治疗的有前途的技术之一。

An ultrasonic spectroscopy system will be constructed with an ultrasonic pulser/receiver and mechanical translation stages purchased by this research grant. The system will be designed and constructed by the applicant. It supports applicant's Discovery Grant (DG) research program (2007-2011), entitled "Piezoelectric and ultrasonic sensors and techniques for non-invasive biomedical monitoring and diagnosis". In the DG program, ultrasonic probes, algorithms, digital signal processing techniques, and computer software for the construction of ultrasonic images from the measured elastic properties of biological tissues are developed. Viscoelastic properties of biomedical materials and tissues generally depend on ultrasonic frequency and temperature. Thus, measurement of their complex elastic constants using ultrasonic longitudinal and shear waves with simultaneous measurement of temperature is desired for accurate evaluation of their viscoelasitc properties. The ultrasonic spectroscopy system constructed with this grant will be used to create a database of viscoelastic properties of biomedical materials and tissues by measuring their ultrasonic propagation characteristics as functions of ultrasonic frequency and temperature with probes and techniques developed by the applicant. Such a database could provide useful information which can be used for elastic imaging of tissues, clinical diagnosis of diseased tissues, tissue characterization and development of new biomedical materials. Furthermore, tissue properties as a function of temperature will provide a tool to investigate a degree of cure in hyperthermia which is one of promising techniques for cancer treatments.