Improved impulse response for hydrophone measurements in therapeutic ultrasound fields.

Abstract

The accurate measurement of pressure waveforms in high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) fields is complicated by the fact that many devices operate at output levels where shock waves can form in the focal region. In tissue ablation applications, the accurate measurement of the shock amplitude is important for predicting tissue heating since the absorption at the shock is proportional to the shock amplitude cubed. To accurately measure shocked pressure waveforms, not only must a hydrophone with a broad bandwidth (>100 MHz) be used, but the frequency response of the hydrophone must be known and used to correct the measured waveform. In this work, shocked pressure waveforms were measured using a fiber optic hydrophone and a frequency response for the hydrophone was determined by comparing measurements with numerical modeling using a KZK‐type equation. The impulse response was separately determined by comparing a measured and an idealized shock pulse generated by an electromagnetic lithotripter. The frequency responses determined by the two methods were in good agreement. Calculations of heating using measured HIFU waveforms that had been deconvolved with the determined frequency response agreed well with measurements in tissue phantom. [Work supported by NIH DK43881, NSBRI SMST01601, NIH EB007643, and RFBR.]