Surface vibration and nearby cavitation of an ex vivo bovine femur exposed to high intensity focused ultrasound.

The acoustic pressure distribution, thermal ablation, and sonochemiluminescence (SCL) generated by cavitation near the surface of an ex vivo bovine femur were investigated at normal and oblique incidences of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), as were the characteristics of bone surface vibrations. The acoustic pressure at the HIFU focus, the width of thermal ablation, and the SCL intensity in the pre-focal region were 1.3 MPa, 7 mm, and 454 electrons, respectively, in the control group at normal incidence, and they respectively increased to 1.5 MPa, 12 mm and 968 electrons in the presence of the bone. At oblique incidence from the left, the acoustic pressure at 3 mm to the right of the HIFU focus was 0.6 MPa and decreased to 0.4 MPa at 3 mm to the left of the focus. The thermal ablation was 20 mm in width and extended along the front surface of the bone to the right of the HIFU focus. The SCL intensity on the right of the HIFU focus was 394 electrons and was 362 electrons on the left. The presence of bone would directionally change the spatial distribution of acoustic pressure, thermal and cavitation effects for oblique incidence of HIFU.