Acoustic radiation force on gas bubbles and soft elastic scatterers in tissue

Abstract

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.