Water Bath Experiments Research Articles

Pressure and thermal effects on Rayleigh fibre-optic strain measurement for soil–structure interaction

Optical strain sensing for structural health monitoring is sometimes deployed for field and laboratory study of civil structures. Rayleigh backscatter devices (ROFDR) are presented for use with geotechnical centrifuge research since they offer distributed sensing capabilities, and through this study are shown to have negligible interference from external pressure effects. A comparison between a single channel and multi-channel fibre optic rotary joint (FORJ) is presented in the context of transmitting optical strain data across a rotating interface. The orthogonal pressure effects of a free-floating fibre under isotropic pressure was <0.32 με/kPa and that the pressure effect on a fibre bonded to a metal surface was below the detection limit of the instrument, 1 με, for an applied pressure of 60 kPa. The ROFDR system showed highly repeatable measurement of a constant temperature reading in a water bath experiment. The system is stable to ±10 microstrain within 2-sigma for a >12 h constant temperature test. An example case of a pipeline buried in a slope experiencing a landslide is presented using fiber pairs to capture pipe stress / strain. Geotechnical centrifuge modelling in a 1 m drum was carried out using a multi-channel FORJ coupled with an ROFDR system.

Towards transcervical ultrasound image guidance for transoral robotic surgery.

Trans-oral robotic surgery (TORS) using the da Vinci surgical robot is a new minimally-invasive surgery method to treat oropharyngeal tumors, but it is a challenging operation. Augmented reality (AR) based on intra-operative ultrasound (US) has the potential to enhance the visualization of the anatomy and cancerous tumors to provide additional tools for decision-making in surgery. We propose a US-guided AR system for TORS, with the transducer placed on the neck for a transcervical view. Firstly, we perform a novel MRI-to-transcervical 3D US registration study, comprising (i) preoperative MRI to preoperative US registration, and (ii) preoperative to intraoperative US registration to account for tissue deformation due to retraction. Secondly, we develop a US-robot calibration method with an optical tracker and demonstrate its use in an AR system that displays anatomy models in the surgeon's console in real-time. Our AR system achieves a projection error from the US to the stereo cameras of 27.14 and 26.03 pixels (image is 540[Formula: see text]960) in a water bath experiment. The average target registration error (TRE) for MRI to 3D US is 8.90mm for the 3D US transducer and 5.85mm for freehand 3D US, and the TRE for pre-intra operative US registration is 7.90mm. We demonstrate the feasibility of each component of the first complete pipeline for MRI-US-robot-patient registration for a proof-of-concept transcervical US-guided AR system for TORS. Our results show that trans-cervical 3D US is a promising technique for TORS image guidance.

Improving axial resolution based on the deconvolution recovery method combined with adaptive weighting techniques for ultrasound imaging.

A fundamental challenge in medical ultrasound imaging is to improve the resolution accurately. Adaptive beamforming is often used to improve lateral resolution, such as minimum variance (MV) and phase coherence factor (PCF). However, it is difficult to improve the axial resolution due to the limitation of the spatial pulse length (SPL) of the transmitted signal. A deconvolution recovery method combines two adaptive weighting techniques to improve axial resolution. A deconvolution recovery (DR) technique is used to improve axial resolution with a shorter SPL. Then, the DR is combined with MV and PCF (DR-MVPCF) to suppress the sidelobe. The influence of different transmission modes, regularization parameters, and the estimation of point spread function are discussed on the proposed algorithm. In simulation, DR-MVPCF improved axial resolution from 0.41 mm (0.98 λ) to 0.09 mm (0.21 λ) compared with MV-PCF. In the water bath experiment, DR-MVPCF provided improvement of axial resolution from 0.39 mm (0.93 λ) to 0.07 mm (0.17 λ) compared with MV-PCF. In-vivo data experiment, the DR-MVPCF method increased the speckle signal-to-noise ratio and visibility of the structure while the contrast ratio and contrast-noise ratio decreased. The proposed method can improve the axial resolution significantly.

Air curtains: validation of results from small-scale laboratory waterbath experiments by real-scale measurements in climate chambers and numerical simulations

An air curtain is a planar turbulent air jet, which is used to separate two zones maintained at different temperatures. One of the aims of using an air curtain in the doorway of a building is to minimise the heat losses from the warm room to the cold environment and thus, to save energy. It is important to know how well an air curtain performs in a given operating scenario in order to assess its energy saving potential. In recent literature, it was proposed to use the waterbath experimental technique as a quick and inexpensive tool for testing the performance of an air curtain in a given scenario. The first central objective of the present study is to validate whether results obtained from small-scale waterbath experiments (WB) are adequate to describe the performance of a real-scale air curtain. To this end, we selected scenarios previously investigated by means of WB experiments and conducted real-scale measurements (RS) with a commercially available air curtain device (ACD) in a climate chamber, and RANS numerical simulations (NS) reproducing the configuration of the ACD in the climate chamber. These scenarios include (I) the base case of a downwards discharging air curtain when the doorway is the only connection between the two rooms, (II) the case when there is an additional top-level ventilation pathway between the rooms as well as (III) the case of a downwards blowing heated air curtain when the rooms are again joined only by the doorway. The second main goal of the present study is to verify the previously developed theoretical models for scenarios (II) and (III) by real-scale measurements and numerical simulations. As the main results, we establish that the effectiveness curves for an ACD obtained from WB experiments on the one hand as well as RS and NS measurements on the other exhibit the same general trends but also possess some minor differences for which we offer possible explanations. Furthermore, we find that RS and NS data are very well described by the previously proposed theoretical models in scenarios (II) and (III). The main finding of the present study is that the waterbath technique can be used as a reliable investigation tool to assess the general trends of the performance of an ACD in a given scenario but should be complemented by a small amount of RS or NS measurements if the finer details are important.

Preclinical evaluation of a markerless, real-time, augmented reality guidance system for robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.

Intra-operative augmented reality (AR) during surgery can mitigate incomplete cancer removal by overlaying the anatomical boundaries extracted from medical imaging data onto the camera image. In this paper, we present the first such completely markerless AR guidance system for robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALRP) that transforms medical data from transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) to endoscope camera image. Moreover, we reduce the total number of transformations by combining the hand-eye and camera calibrations in a single step. Our proposed solution requires two transformations: TRUS to robot, [Formula: see text], and camera projection matrix, [Formula: see text] (i.e., the transformation from endoscope to camera image frame). [Formula: see text] is estimated by the method proposed in Mohareri et al. (in J Urol 193(1):302-312, 2015). [Formula: see text] is estimated by selecting corresponding 3D-2D data points in the endoscope and the image coordinate frame, respectively, by using a CAD model of the surgical instrument and a preoperative camera intrinsic matrix with an assumption of a projective camera. The parameters are estimated using Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. Overall mean re-projection errors (MRE) are reported using simulated and real data using a water bath. We show that [Formula: see text] can be re-estimated if the focus is changed during surgery. Using simulated data, we received an overall MRE in the range of 11.69-13.32 pixels for monoscopic and stereo left and right cameras. For the water bath experiment, the overall MRE is in the range of 26.04-30.59 pixels for monoscopic and stereo cameras. The overall system error from TRUS to camera world frame is 4.05mm. Details of the procedure are given in supplementary material. We demonstrate a markerless AR guidance system for RALRP that does not need calibration markers and thus has the capability to re-estimate the camera projection matrix if it changes during surgery, e.g., due to a focus change.

3D free-hand ultrasound to register anatomical landmarks at the pelvis and localize the hip joint center in lean and obese individuals

3D free-hand ultrasound (3DFUS) is becoming increasingly popular to assist clinical gait analysis because it is cost- and time-efficient and does not expose participants to radiation. The aim of this study was to evaluate its reliability in localizing the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) at the pelvis and the hip joint centers (HJC). Additionally, we evaluated its accuracy to get a rough estimation of the potential to use of 3DFUS to segment bony surface. This could offer potential to register medical images to motion capture data in future. To evaluate reliability, a test–retest study was conducted in 16 lean and 19 obese individuals. The locations of the ASIS were determined by manual marker placement (MMP), an instrumented pointer technique (IPT), and with 3DFUS. The HJC location was also determined with 3DFUS. To quantify reliability, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), the standard error of measurement (SEm), among other statistical parameters, were calculated for the identified locations between the test and retest. To assess accuracy, the surface of a human plastic pelvic phantom was segmented with 3DFUS in a distilled water bath in 27 trials and compared to a 3D laser scan of the pelvis. Regarding reliability, the MMP, but especially the IPT showed high reliability in lean (SEm: 2–3 mm) and reduced reliability in obese individuals (SEm: 6–15 mm). Compared to MMP and IPT, 3DFUS presented lower reliability in the lean group (SEm: 2–4 mm vs. 2–8 mm, respectively) but slightly better values in the obese group (SEm: 7–11 mm vs. 6–16 mm, respectively). Correlations between test–retest reliability and torso body fat mass (% of body mass) indicated a moderate to strong relationship for MMP and IPT but only a weak correlation for the 3DFUS approach. The water-bath experiments indicated an acceptable level of 3.5 (1.7) mm of accuracy for 3DFUS in segmenting bone surface. Despite some difficulties with single trials, our data give further rise to the idea that 3DFUS could serve as a promising tool in future to inform marker placement and hip joint center location, especially in groups with higher amount of body fat.

Time-Resolved Passive Cavitation Mapping Using the Transient Angular Spectrum Approach.

Passive cavitation mapping (PCM), which generates images using bubble acoustic emission signals, has been increasingly used for monitoring and guiding focused ultrasound surgery (FUS). PCM can be used as an adjunct to magnetic resonance imaging to provide crucial information on the safety and efficacy of FUS. The most widely used algorithm for PCM is delay-and-sum (DAS). One of the major limitations of DAS is its suboptimal computational efficiency. Although frequency-domain DAS can partially resolve this issue, such an algorithm is not suitable for imaging the evolution of bubble activity in real time and for cases in which cavitation events occur asynchronously. This study investigates a transient angular spectrum (AS) approach for PCM. The working principle of this approach is to backpropagate the received signal to the domain of interest and reconstruct the spatial-temporal wavefield encoded with the bubble location and collapse time. The transient AS approach is validated using an in silico model and water bath experiments. It is found that the transient AS approach yields similar results to DAS, but it is one order of magnitude faster. The results obtained by this study suggest that the transient AS approach is promising for fast and accurate PCM.

Contaminant transport by human passage through an air curtain separating two sections of a corridor: Part I – Uniform ambient temperature

Air curtains are commonly used as separation barriers to reduce exchange flows through an open door of a building. Here, we investigate the effectiveness of an air curtain to prevent the transport of contaminants by a person walking along a corridor from a dirty zone into a clean zone. We conduct small-scale waterbath experiments with fresh water, brine and sugar solutions, with the brine acting as a passive tracer for the contaminant transport in the wake of a person. A cylinder representing a moving person is pulled between two fixed points in the channel across the air curtain. We observe that the air curtain can prevent up to 40% of the contaminant transport due to the wake of a moving person. We propose a new way to evaluate the performance of an air curtain in terms of the deflection modulus and the effectiveness defined for this iso-density situation, similar to quantities typically used for the case where the fluid densities in the two zones are different. We observe that the air curtain has an optimal operating condition to achieve a maximum effectiveness. Dye visualisations and time-resolved particle image velocimetry of the air curtain and the cylinder wake are used to examine the re-establishment process of the planar jet after its disruption by the cylinder and we observe that some part of the wake is separated by the re-establishing curtain. We observe that the exchange flux peaks after the cylinder passes the air curtain and reduces to a typical value after the re-establishment of the curtain.

Contaminant transport by human passage through an air curtain separating two sections of a corridor: Part II – Two zones at different temperatures

Air curtains are installed in open doorways of a building to reduce buoyancy-driven exchange flows across the doorway. Although an air curtain allows an unhampered passage of humans and vehicles, the interaction of this traffic with an air curtain is not well understood. In this study, we investigate the problem of the simultaneous interaction between the air curtain, the wake of a moving person and the buoyancy-driven flow arising due to the density difference across the doorway. To this end, we conduct small-scale waterbath experiments with fresh water and salt water solutions to achieve different fluid densities. As a model of human passage, a vertical cylinder is pulled through a planar jet representing an air curtain and separating two zones at different densities. For a fixed travel distance of the cylinder before and after the air curtain, the average infiltration flux of dense fluid into the light fluid side increases with increasing cylinder velocity. Remarkably, we find that the infiltration flux is independent of the density difference across the doorway and is mainly due to the interaction between the air curtain and the cylinder wake with negligible effects from the buoyancy-driven flow. Furthermore, the infiltration flux is also independent of the travel direction of the cylinder. As a consequence, the sealing effectiveness of an air curtain reduces with an increasing cylinder speed and this reduction is independent of the direction of the buoyancy-driven flow. We provide a theoretical explanation for the observed changes in the effectiveness curve of the air curtain as the function of the deflection modulus. Dye visualisations of the air curtain and the cylinder wake are used to examine the re-establishment process of the air curtain after its disruption by the cylinder. We observe that the re-establishment time of the air curtain and the infiltration in the cylinder wake increases with an increasing cylinder speed.

Experimental and computational analysis of the polymerization overheating in thick glass/Elium® acrylic thermoplastic resin composites

The exothermic reaction and overheating during radical polymerization of an Elium® resin and glass fiber reinforced Elium® composites are critically evaluated in this work. The polymerization kinetics of the Elium® resin is obtained by performing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) scans. The measured data is fit to a temperature and degree of polymerization (DoP) dependent kinetics model. A coupled thermo-chemical process model is developed to predict the temperature evolution and DoP. First, the model is validated with the water bath experiments in which the pure Elium® resin is polymerized at different temperatures (30, 50 and 70 °C). The validated process model is then applied to a vacuum infusion process of glass reinforced Elium® composite laminates with different thicknesses (3.8, 7.5 and 11.3 mm) at room temperature. The produced laminates have the void content lower than 1%. The peak temperature is found to be approximately in the range of 155-160 °C during the water bath experiments. On the other hand, the peak exothermic temperature is approximately 49 °C and 70 °C for 3.8 mm and 11.3 mm thick laminate, respectively. The developed polymerization kinetics model is found to be effective as the predicted temperature evolutions match well with the measured temperatures for different laminates. The effect of laminate thickness and processing teperature on the peak temperature is studied by the developed numerical model. The thermo-chemical process model developed in this work is therefore capable of predicting the polymerization overheating for Elium® composites and can enable the optimization of the manufacturing process to control the thermal and DoP histories.

The Influence of Shape Changing Behaviors from 4D Printing through Material Extrusion Print Patterns and Infill Densities.

Four-dimensional printing (4DP) is an approach of using Shape Memory Materials (SMMs) with additive manufacturing (AM) processes to produce printed parts that can deform over a determined amount of time. This research examines how Polylactic Acid (PLA), as a Shape Memory Polymer (SMP), can be programmed by manipulating the build parameters of material extrusion. In this research, a water bath experiment was used to show the results of the shape-recovery of bending and shape-recovery speed of the printed parts, according to the influence of the print pattern, infill density and recovery temperature (Tr). In terms of the influence of the print pattern, the ‘Quarter-cubic’ pattern with a 100% infill density showed the best recovery result; and the ‘Line’ pattern with a 20% infill density showed the worst recovery result. The ‘Cubic-subdivision’ pattern with a 20% infill density demonstrated the shortest recovery time; and the ‘Concentric’ pattern with a 100% infill density demonstrated the longest recovery time. The results also showed that a high temperature and high infill density provided better recovery, and a low temperature and low infill density resulted in poor recovery.

Microwave-Induced Thermal Lesion Detection via Ultrasonic Scatterer Center Frequency Analysis with Autoregressive Cepstrum.

We proposed a new method for microwave-induced thermal lesion detection using the autoregressive spectrum analysis of ultrasonic backscattered signals in this paper. Eighteen cases of microwave ablation experiments and twenty cases of water bath heating experiments were conducted. Ultrasonic radiofrequency data of normal and coagulated porcine liver tissues were collected through these two experiments. Then, autoregressive spectrum analysis was performed; the mean frequency of the dominant peak in the autoregressive spectrum was computed based on water bath experiments; and a method for recognizing normal and solidified tissues was obtained by comparing the difference of the dominant peak in the autoregressive spectrum. Two bandpass finite impulse response filters, whose passbands corresponded respectively to the dominant peak in the autoregressive spectrum of normal and coagulated tissues, were used to compute the power spectral integration for the microwave-induced experiments. Microwave-induced thermal lesions were detected based on the differences between the power spectral integrations from the two filters. Compared to the caliper-measured area, the power spectral integration detected area had an error of (10.25 ± 3.59). Experimental results indicated that the proposed method may be used in preliminary detection of microwave-induced thermal lesions.

Improved virus inactivation using a hot bubble column evaporator (HBCE).

An improved hot bubble column evaporator (HBCE) was used to study virus inactivation rates using hot bubble-virus interactions in two different conditions: (1) using the bubble coalescence inhibition phenomenon of monovalent electrolytes and (2) with reducing the electrostatic repulsive forces between virus and bubble, by the addition of divalent electrolytes. It is shown that the continuous flow of (dry) air, even at 150-250 °C, only heats the aqueous solution in the bubble column to about 45°-55 °C and it was also established that viruses are not significantly affected by even long term exposure to this solution temperature, as confirmed separately from water bath experiments. Hence, the effects observed appeared to be caused entirely by collisions between the hot air bubbles and the virus organisms. It was also established that the use of high air inlet temperatures, for short periods of time, can reduce the thermal energy requirement to only about 25% (about 114 kJ/L) of that required for boiling (about 450 kJ/L).

Validation of an ingestible temperature data logging and telemetry system during exercise in the heat

ABSTRACTAim: Intestinal temperature telemetry systems are promising monitoring and research tools in athletes. However, the additional equipment that must be carried to continuously record temperature data limits their use to training. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of a new gastrointestinal temperature data logging and telemetry system (e-Celsius™) during water bath experimentation and exercise trials. Materials and Methods: Temperature readings of 23 pairs of e-Celsius (TeC) and VitalSense (TVS) ingestible capsules were compared to rectal thermistor responses (Trec) at 35, 38.5 and 42°C in a water bath. Devices were also assessed in vivo during steady-state cycling (n = 11) and intermittent running (n = 11) in hot conditions. Results: The water bath experiment showed TVS and TeC under-reported Trec (P<0.001). This underestimation of Trec also occurred during both cycling (mean bias vs TVS: 0.21°C, ICC: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.66–0.91; mean bias vs. TeC: 0.44°C, ICC: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.07–0.86, P<0.05) and running trials (mean bias vs. TVS: 0.15°C, ICC: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.83–0.96; mean bias vs. TeC: 0.25, ICC: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.61–0.94, P<0.05). However, calibrating the devices attenuated this difference during cycling and eliminated it during running. During recovery following cycling exercise, TeC and TVS were significantly lower than Trec despite calibration (P<0.01). Conclusion: These results indicate that both TeC and TVS under-report Trec during steady-state and intermittent exercise in the heat, with TeC predicting Trec with the least accuracy of the telemetry devices. It is therefore recommended to calibrate these devices at multiple temperatures prior to use.

Multi-gradient echo MR thermometry for monitoring of the near-field area during MR-guided high intensity focused ultrasound heating

The multi-gradient echo MR thermometry (MGE MRT) method is proposed to use at the interface of the muscle and fat layers found in the abdominal wall, to monitor MR-HIFU heating. As MGE MRT uses fat as a reference, it is field-drift corrected. Relative temperature maps were reconstructed by subtracting absolute temperature maps. Because the absolute temperature maps are reconstructed of individual scans, MGE MRT provides the flexibility of interleaved mapping of temperature changes between two arbitrary time points. The method’s performance was assessed in an ex vivo water bath experiment. An ex vivo HIFU experiment was performed to show the method’s ability to monitor heating of consecutive HIFU sonications and to estimate cooling time constants, in the presence of field drift. The interleaved use between scans of a clinical protocol was demonstrated in vivo in a patient during a clinical uterine fibroid treatment. The relative temperature measurements were accurate (mean absolute error 0.3 °C) and provided excellent visualization of the heating of consecutive HIFU sonications. Maps were reconstructed of estimated cooling time constants and mean ROI values could be well explained by the applied heating pattern. Heating upon HIFU sonication and subsequent cooling could be observed in the in vivo demonstration.

Can butterflies evade fire? Pupa location and heat tolerance in fire prone habitats of Florida.

Butterflies such as the atala hairstreak, Eumaeus atala Poey, and the frosted elfin, Callophrys irus Godart, are restricted to frequently disturbed habitats where their larval host plants occur. Pupae of these butterflies are noted to reside at the base of host plants or in the leaf litter and soil, which may allow them to escape direct mortality by fire, a prominent disturbance in many areas they inhabit. The capacity of these species to cope with fire is a critical consideration for land management and conservation strategies in the locations where they are found. Survival of E. atala pupae in relation to temperature and duration of heat pulse was tested using controlled water bath experiments and a series of prescribed fire field experiments. Survival of E. atala pupae was correlated to peak temperature and heat exposure in both laboratory and field trials. In addition, E. atala survival following field trials was correlated to depth of burial; complete mortality was observed for pupae at the soil surface. Fifty percent of E. atala survived the heat generated by prescribed fire when experimentally placed at depths ≥ 1.75cm, suggesting that pupation of butterflies in the soil at depth can protect from fatal temperatures caused by fire. For a species such as E. atala that pupates above ground, a population reduction from a burn event is a significant loss, and so decreasing the impact of prescribed fire on populations is critical.

Feasibility of non-invasive temperature estimation by the assessment of the average gray-level content of B-mode images

This paper assesses the potential of the average gray-level (AVGL) from ultrasonographic (B-mode) images to estimate temperature changes in time and space in a non-invasive way.Experiments were conducted involving a homogeneous bovine muscle sample, and temperature variations were induced by an automatic temperature regulated water bath, and by therapeutic ultrasound. B-mode images and temperatures were recorded simultaneously. After data collection, regions of interest (ROIs) were defined, and the average gray-level variation computed. For the selected ROIs, the AVGL–Temperature relation were determined and studied. Based on uniformly distributed image partitions, two-dimensional temperature maps were developed for homogeneous regions. The color-coded temperature estimates were first obtained from an AVGL–Temperature relation extracted from a specific partition (where temperature was independently measured by a thermocouple), and then extended to the other partitions. This procedure aimed to analyze the AVGL sensitivity to changes not only in time but also in space.Linear and quadratic relations were obtained depending on the heating modality. We found that the AVGL–Temperature relation is reproducible over successive heating and cooling cycles. One important result was that the AVGL–Temperature relations extracted from one region might be used to estimate temperature in other regions (errors inferior to 0.5°C) when therapeutic ultrasound was applied as a heating source. Based on this result, two-dimensional temperature maps were developed when the samples were heated in the water bath and also by therapeutic ultrasound. The maps were obtained based on a linear relation for the water bath heating, and based on a quadratic model for the therapeutic ultrasound heating. The maps for the water bath experiment reproduce an acceptable heating/cooling pattern, and for the therapeutic ultrasound heating experiment, the maps seem to reproduce temperature profiles consistent with the pressure field of the transducer, and in agreement with temperature maps developed by COMSOL®MultiPhysics simulations.

Magnetic Catheter Manipulation in the Interventional MR Imaging Environment

PurposeTo evaluate deflection capability of a prototype endovascular catheter, which is remotely magnetically steerable, for use in the interventional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging environment. Materials and MethodsCopper coils were mounted on the tips of commercially available 2.3–3.0-F microcatheters. The coils were fabricated in a novel manner by plasma vapor deposition of a copper layer followed by laser lithography of the layer into coils. Orthogonal helical (ie, solenoid) and saddle-shaped (ie, Helmholtz) coils were mounted on a single catheter tip. Microcatheters were tested in water bath phantoms in a 1.5-T clinical MR scanner, with variable simultaneous currents applied to the coils. Catheter tip deflection was imaged in the axial plane by using a “real-time” steady-state free precession MR imaging sequence. Degree of deflection and catheter tip orientation were measured for each current application. ResultsThe catheter tip was clearly visible in the longitudinal and axial planes. Magnetic field artifacts were visible when the orthogonal coils at the catheter tip were energized. Variable amounts of current applied to a single coil demonstrated consistent catheter deflection in all water bath experiments. Changing current polarity reversed the observed direction of deflection, whereas current applied to two different coils resulted in deflection represented by the composite vector of individual coil activations. Microcatheter navigation through the vascular phantom was successful through control of applied current to one or more coils. ConclusionsControlled catheter deflection is possible with laser lithographed multiaxis coil-tipped catheters in the MR imaging environment.

20 MHz forward-imaging single-element beam steering with an internal rotating variable-angle reflecting surface: Wire phantom and ex vivo pilot study

Feasibility is demonstrated for a forward-imaging beam steering system involving a single-element 20MHz angled-face acoustic transducer combined with an internal rotating variable-angle reflecting surface (VARS). Rotation of the VARS structure, for a fixed position of the transducer, generates a 2-D angular sector scan. If these VARS revolutions were to be accompanied by successive rotations of the single-element transducer, 3-D imaging would be achieved.In the design of this device, a single-element 20MHz PMN-PT press-focused angled-face transducer is focused on the circle of midpoints of a micro-machined VARS within the distal end of an endoscope. The 2-D imaging system was tested in water bath experiments with phantom wire structures at a depth of 10mm, and exhibited an axial resolution of 66μm and a lateral resolution of 520μm. Chirp coded excitation was used to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio, and to increase the depth of penetration. Images of an ex vivo cow eye were obtained. This VARS-based approach offers a novel forward-looking beam-steering method, which could be useful in intra-cavity imaging.

Luciferase-based protein denaturation assay for quantification of radiofrequency field-induced targeted hyperthermia: Developing an intracellular thermometer

Background: Several studies have reported targeted hyperthermia at the cellular level using remote activation of nanoparticles by radiofrequency waves. To date, methods to quantify intracellular thermal dose have not been reported. In this report we study the relationship between radio wave exposure and luciferase denaturation with and without intracellular nanoparticles. The findings are used to devise a strategy to quantify targeted thermal dose in a primary human liver cancer cell line.Methods: Water bath or non-invasive external Kanzius RF generator (600 W, 13.56 MHz) was used for hyperthermia exposures. Luciferase activity was measured using a bioluminescence assay and viability was assessed using Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide staining. Heat shock proteins were analysed using western blot analysis.Results: Duration-dependent luciferase denaturation was observed in SNU449 cells exposed to RF field that preceded measurable loss in viability. Loss of luciferase activity was higher in cetuximab-conjugated gold nanoparticle (C225-AuNP) treated cells. Using a standard curve from water bath experiments, the intracellular thermal dose was calculated. Cells treated with C225-AuNP accumulated 6.07 times higher intracellular thermal dose than the untreated controls over initial 4 min of RF exposure.Conclusion: Cancer cells when exposed to an external RF field exhibit dose-dependent protein denaturation. Luciferase denaturation assay can be used to quantify thermal dose delivered after RF exposures to cancer cells with and without nanoparticles.