Finite-difference time-domain simulations of piezoelectric effect in bone under ultrasound irradiation

Abstract

To understand the piezoelectricity in bone at ultrasound frequencies, numerical simulations of piezoelectric effect under ultrasound irradiation was performed using an elastic finite-difference time-domain method with piezoelectric constitutive equations (PE-FDTD method). First, the effect of piezoelectricity on ultrasound wave propagation in a piezoelectric material was investigated with consideration of conductivity. Ultrasound pulsed waveforms propagating through piezoelectric ceramics, whose piezoelectric parameter values were known, were investigated by the PE-FDTD simulations. In the simulated results, the ultrasound speed in the ceramics increased with piezoelectricity, and the ultrasound attenuation caused by the piezoelectricity increased with conductivity. The simulated waveforms were in good agreement with the experimental waveforms, which demonstrated the validity of the PE-FDTD simulations. Next, the piezoelectric effect on ultrasound wave propagation in cortical bone was simulated. The piezo...