Experimental and theoretical investigations of ultrasound contrast agent dynamics between parallel plates and within rectangular channels.

Abstract

The behavior of ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) microbubbles in confining environments is relevant for applications including ultrasound imaging and targeted microbubbles. In this presentation, measurements from experiments investigating the radial dynamics of UCA microbubbles positioned between parallel plates and within rectangular microchannels will be compared with model simulations. The radial motion of several UCA bubbles was recorded with high‐speed imaging at 15 million frames per second over a range of insonation frequencies at various offset distances from the plates or channel walls. The behavior of each individual bubble was observed in both parallel plate and microchannel environments, thereby isolating effects due purely to the confinement. Several plastics and polymers with well‐defined material properties were used to construct the plates and channels, making the dataset suitable for model validation. Measurements show that the oscillation amplitude and natural frequency of the bubbles dep...