Acoustic properties of organic powders as ultrasonic contrast agents

Abstract

The results of experiments on measuring attenuation and the effective acoustic nonlinear parameter of the second order are given for a suspension of cocoa-powder in water at different concentrations of the suspension. In the process of evaluating the value of the nonlinear parameter the attenuation in the suspension and generation of the second harmonic not only in the suspension but also in water are taken into account. The obtained results are evidence of the possibility of using a suspension of cocoa-powder in water as a technical substitute for ultrasonic contrast agents. The values of attenuation (up to 60 m−1 at the concentration of 1 g of the powder per 1 l of water) and the nonlinear parameter (up to 120 m−1 at the same concentration) mean that the suspension of cocoa-powder in water has smaller attenuation and the nonlinear parameter than ultrasonic contrast agents at the same concentration. However, these values for the suspension differ considerably from corresponding values for water or blood and, therefore, a suspension of cocoa-powder in water is a promising “substitute” for ultrasonic contrast agents in the case of technical testing of systems for nonlinear tomography of a blood flow, but cannot replace them in medical studies.