Shear Shock Waves Mediate Haptic Holography via Focused Ultrasound

This repository contains links to the data used in the publication "Shear Shock Waves Mediate Haptic Holography via Focused Ultrasound" (Reardon et al., 2023). If you use these data please cite our publication found here: http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adf2037.

Abstract From Manuscript

Emerging holographic haptic interfaces focus ultrasound in air to enable their users to touch, feel, and manipulate three-dimensional virtual objects. However, current holographic haptic systems furnish tactile sensations that are diffuse and faint, with apparent spatial resolutions that are far coarser than would be theoretically predicted from acoustic focusing. Here, we show how the effective spatial resolution and dynamic range of holographic haptic displays are determined by ultrasound-driven elastic wave transport in soft tissues. Using time-resolved optical imaging and numerical simulations, we show that ultrasound-based holographic displays excite shear shock wave patterns in the skin. The spatial dimensions of these wave patterns can exceed nominal focal dimensions by more than an order of magnitude. Analyses of data from behavioral and vibrometry experiments indicate that shock formation diminishes perceptual acuity. For holographic haptic displays to attain their potential, techniques for circumventing shock wave artifacts, or for exploiting these phenomena, are needed.

Dataset Description

This dataset comprises surface velocity responses of materials to ultrasound-based holographic haptic displays. The dataset is split into three parts: numerical simulations on a tissue-like material, experimental measurements on a tissue phantom, and in vivo experimental measurements on a human hand. For details on our numerical and experimental procedure, please see our publication.

Elastic Wave Simulations

The elastic wave simulation dataset contains the surface velocity response of a tissue-like material to an acoustic source scanned across the medium surface and is split into two parts: closed scanning paths (circle and square paths) and open scanning paths (line, zigzag, and letter). These datasets can be found at the following DOIs: 10.5281/zenodo.7686542 and 10.5281/zenodo.7686550.

Vibrometry Measurements with Elastomer Plate

Data on our tissue phantom was captured via laser doppler vibrometer. This dataset contains the tissue phantom response to focused ultrasound scanned across the tissue phantom surface along linear and zigzag paths. This dataset can be found at the following DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7686555.

Human Hand: Wave Patterns and Perception

In vivo measurements on the human hand were captured via laser doppler vibrometer. This dataset contains the skin response to focused ultrasound scanned in a zigzag path from the wrist to the distal end of digit 2 (and vice-versa) of a single participant. We also captured a behavioral dataset that assessed tactile motion direction discrimination. Participants reported the direction of scanning via a two-alternative forced-choice task. Written, informed consent was gathered from all participants in this study, and the protocol was approved by the human subjects committee of our institution. This dataset can be found at the following DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7686561.