Feedback loop process for controlling inertial cavitation: experimental evidence

Abstract

Applications involving cavitation mechanisms, such as sonoporation, are irreproducible in the case of a fixed‐intensity sonication, due to the non‐stationary behavior of cavitation. We then propose to work at a fixed‐cavitation level instead of under fixed‐intensity sonication conditions. For this purpose a regulated cavitation generator has been developed in a stationary wave field configuration, which allows regulation of the cavitation level during sonication by modulating the applied acoustic intensity with a feedback loop based on acoustic cavitation measurements. The cavitation level indicator was quantified by the broadband spectrum noise level relative to inertial cavitation events. This generated inertial cavitation was characterized by both acoustic and chemical measurements, quantifying hydroxyl radicals produced by water sonolysis. While the cavitation level is obtained with a 40% standard deviation for fixed applied acoustic intensities in the range [0.01 3.44] W/cm2, the regulated generator reproduces the cavitation level with a standard deviation of 3%. The results show that the hydroxyl radical production is better correlated with the cavitation level setting than with the applied acoustic intensity, highlighting the fact that broadband noise is a good indicator of inertial cavitation, with greatest interest for cavitation monitoring. In summary, the regulated device generates a cavitation level that is reproducible, repeatable and stable in time. This system produces reproducible effects that allow consideration of biological applications such as sonoporation to be independent of the experimental ultrasound device, as confirmed by transfection efficiency and cell cytotoxicity studies. Thus, this feedback loop process presents interesting perspectives for monitoring and controlling in‐vivo cavitation.