Standard means for the reporting of the acoustic output of medical diagnostic ultrasonic equipment

2007 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Standard Means ◽  
Ultrasonic Equipment ◽  
Medical Diagnostic ◽  
Acoustic Output

scholarly journals Open-source, high-throughput ultrasound treatment chamber

2015 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Torstein Yddal ◽  
Sandy Cochran ◽  
Odd Helge Gilja ◽  
Michiel Postema ◽  
Spiros Kotopoulis
Keyword(s):  
3D Printing ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Impedance Matching ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Ultrasonic Equipment ◽  
Acoustic Output ◽  
Acoustic Calibration

AbstractStudying the effects of ultrasound on biological cells requires extensive knowledge of both the physical ultrasound and cellular biology. Translating knowledge between these fields can be complicated and time consuming. With the vast range of ultrasonic equipment available, nearly every research group uses different or unique devices. Hence, recreating the experimental conditions and results may be expensive or difficult. For this reason, we have developed devices to combat the common problems seen in state-of-the-art biomedical ultrasound research. In this paper, we present the design, fabrication, and characterisation of an open-source device that is easy to manufacture, allows for parallel sample sonication, and is highly reproducible, with complete acoustic calibration. This device is designed to act as a template for sample sonication experiments. We demonstrate the fabrication technique for devices designed to sonicate 24-well plates and OptiCell™ using three-dimensional (3D) printing and low-cost consumables. We increased the pressure output by electrical impedance matching of the transducers using transmission line transformers, resulting in an increase by a factor of 3.15. The devices cost approximately €220 in consumables, with a major portion attributed to the 3D printing, and can be fabricated in approximately 8 working hours. Our results show that, if our protocol is followed, the mean acoustic output between devices has a variance of <1%. We openly provide the 3D files and operation software allowing any laboratory to fabricate and use these devices at minimal cost and without substantial prior know-how.

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