High-speed X-ray phase contrast imaging of cavitation bubble cloud dynamics in a high-intensity focused ultrasound field

Exploiting X-ray phase contrast imaging, this proposal aims to extend our physical description of the cavitation bubble cloud dynamics in a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) field to the internal cloud dynamics. The expected comprehensive description will contribute to improve the use of HIFU in multiple medical applications. More specifically, we intend to conduct HIFU-cavitation bubble cloud experiments in (1) a boundary-free environment to describe the canonical dynamics of bubble clouds and (2) in a human body environment (using phantoms) to address the effect of boundaries on the cloud dynamics mimicking conditions in HIFU-based clinical therapies.

本研究旨在借助X射线相位衬度成像（X-ray phase contrast imaging）技术，将现有对高强度聚焦超声（high-intensity focused ultrasound, HIFU）场中空化气泡云动力学的物理描述拓展至气泡云内部动力学范畴。此项研究预期获得的全面阐释，将有助于优化HIFU在多种医疗场景中的应用。具体而言，本研究拟开展两类HIFU-空化气泡云实验：其一为无边界环境实验，以刻画气泡云的典型动力学特征；其二为人体模拟环境实验（采用体模phantoms），以探究模拟临床HIFU治疗场景下，边界条件对气泡云动力学的影响。