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EPSRC Reference: GR/N13180/01
Title: DYNAMICS OF MICROBUBBLE ULTRASONIC CONTRAST AGENTS: EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL INVESTIGATIONS
Principal Investigator: McDicken, Professor WN
Other Investigators:
Moran, Professor C Pye, Dr S Pye, Dr S
Gomatam, Professor J
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Medical and Radiological Sciences
Organisation: University of Edinburgh
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 01 October 2000 Ends: 30 September 2003 Value (£): 376,503
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Instrumentation Eng. & Dev.
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Healthcare
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
Encapsulated, gas-filled microbubbles are now used increasingly in ultrasonic scanning for enhancing the ultrasound signal from difficult-to-image anatomical sites. However the response of these microbubbles to the acoustic pulse is not well documented, in particular with respect to parameters such as varying capsule thickness, distribution and size. Of great interest is also the life cycle phenomena that accompany bubble oscillations, such as rupture or cavitation. The statistical dynamics of cavities will be addressed by analyzing those problems in terms of a heirarchy of mathematical models from gas bubbles to elastic capsules, from isolated cavities to a population thereof, from deterministic to stochastic interactions with appropriate variations in the frequency, amplitude, phase and the pulse shape of the isonating field. The phenomenon of stochastic resonance from bubbles forced to periodically move in response to an acoustic pressure field could be usefully exploited in practical applications. The main aim of the experimental and theoretical investigation is to discover and account for behaviours that are totally absent in the analyses of isolated microbubbles and investigate their impact on diagnostic and therapeutic applications of ultrasound.
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