Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering and Informatics, Cyprus University of Technology, 30 Archiepiskopou Kyprianou Street, Limassol, 3036, Cyprus.
MEDSONIC LTD, 35 Christaki Kranou Street, Germasogia, Limassol, 4041, Cyprus.
J Acoust Soc Am. 2021 Apr;149(4):2854. doi: 10.1121/10.0004772.
With focused ultrasound (FUS) gaining popularity as a therapeutic modality for brain diseases, the need for skull phantoms that are suitable for evaluating FUS protocols is increasing. In the current study, the acoustical properties of several three-dimensional (3D) printed thermoplastic samples were evaluated to assess their suitability to mimic human skull and bone accurately. Samples were 3D printed using eight commercially available thermoplastic materials. The acoustic properties of the printed samples, including attenuation coefficient, speed of sound, and acoustic impedance, were investigated using transmission-through and pulse-echo techniques. The ultrasonic attenuation, estimated at a frequency of 1.1 MHz, varied from approximately 7 to 32 dB/cm. The frequency dependence of attenuation was described by a power law in the frequency range of 0.2-3.5 MHz, and the exponential index of frequency was found to vary from 1.30 to 2.24. The longitudinal velocity of 2.7 MHz sound waves was in the range of 1700-3050 m/s. The results demonstrate that thermoplastics could potentially be used for the 3D construction of high-quality skull phantoms.
随着聚焦超声（FUS）作为治疗脑部疾病的一种治疗方式越来越受欢迎，对适合评估 FUS 方案的颅骨模型的需求也在增加。在本研究中，评估了几种三维（3D）打印热塑性样品的声学特性，以评估它们准确模拟人类颅骨和骨骼的适用性。使用八种市售的热塑性材料对样品进行 3D 打印。使用透射和脉冲回波技术研究了打印样品的声学特性，包括衰减系数、声速和声阻抗。在 1.1 MHz 的频率下估计的超声衰减值在大约 7 到 32 dB/cm 之间变化。在 0.2-3.5 MHz 的频率范围内，衰减的频率依赖性用幂律描述，频率的指数从 1.30 到 2.24 变化。2.7 MHz 声波的纵波速度在 1700-3050 m/s 范围内。结果表明，热塑性材料有可能用于高质量颅骨模型的 3D 构建。
