Close X
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Now, ultrasound can penetrate bones, metals

Darpan News Desk IANS, 21 Nov, 2014 12:07 PM
    In a major breakthrough, researchers have developed a technique that allows ultrasound to penetrate bones and metals.
     
    Materials like bones and metals, called aberrating layers, have physical characteristics that block or distort ultrasound's acoustic waves.
     
    "We have designed complementary metamaterials that will make it easier for medical professionals to use ultrasound for diagnostic or therapeutic applications, such as monitoring blood flow in the brain or to treat brain tumors," said lead author Tarry Chen Shen from North Carolina State University.
     
    "These metamaterials could also be used in industrial settings," pointed out Yun Jing, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University.
     
    The new technique will allow us to use ultrasound to detect cracks in airplane wings under the wing's metal "skin", noted Yun Jing.
     
    Ultrasound imaging works by emitting high frequency acoustic waves.
     
    When those waves bounce off an object, they return to the ultrasound equipment, which translates the waves into an image.
     
    The team has designed customised metamaterial structures that take into account the acoustic properties of the aberrating layer and offsetting them.
     
    The metamaterial structure uses a series of membranes and small tubes to achieve the desired acoustic characteristics.
     
    The researchers have tested the technique using computer simulations and are in the process of developing and testing a physical prototype.
     
    The technique can be used for ultrasound imaging, as well as therapeutically like using ultrasound to apply energy to brain tumors, in order to burn them.
     
    The study appeared in the journal Physical Review X.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Will your kid become binge drinker?

    Will your kid become binge drinker?
    Having even a single drink at age 14 can make you a binge drinker, a research warns.

    Will your kid become binge drinker?

    Fasting during Ramadan: The health risks for Diabetic Muslims

    Fasting during Ramadan: The health risks for Diabetic Muslims
    Muslims around the world fast in this holy month of Ramadan -- from pre-dawn hours to dusk. Health experts have a word of caution for those who may be diabetic.

    Fasting during Ramadan: The health risks for Diabetic Muslims

    Burn brown fat, shed weight faster

    Burn brown fat, shed weight faster
    If you want to lose weight fast, turn your focus on brown fat instead of normal, white fat. According to researchers, brown fat plays an active role in metabolism.

    Burn brown fat, shed weight faster

    How conflict affects women's reproductive health

    How conflict affects women's reproductive health
    Gender-based violence, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, and maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity all flourish in times of conflict

    How conflict affects women's reproductive health

    Gentlemen, Listen to your wife to lower heart attack risk

    Gentlemen, Listen to your wife to lower heart attack risk
     Do find time to talk to your wife even if you come tired from office and want to hit the sack - for a better heart health.

    Gentlemen, Listen to your wife to lower heart attack risk

    Boost protein intake to lose weight

    Boost protein intake to lose weight
    Counting calories before every meal to keep your weight in check? You may chill out a bit now as researchers have found that instead of counting calories for weight loss, you would do better to boost the protein content of your diet.

    Boost protein intake to lose weight