Enhanced ultrasound penetrates bone and metal

‘We’ve 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 tumours,’ said Tarry Chen Shen, a Ph.D. student at NC State and lead author of a paper on the work. ‘This has been difficult in the past because the skull distorts the ultrasound’s acoustic field.’

‘These metamaterials could also be used in industrial settings,’ said Dr. Yun Jing, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State and senior author of the paper. ‘For example, it would allow you to use ultrasound to detect cracks in airplane wings under the wing’s metal ‘skin.’’

Ultrasound imaging works by emitting high frequency acoustic waves. When those waves rebound off an object, they return to the ultrasound equipment, which translates the waves into an image.

Some materials such as bone or metal have physical characteristics that block or distort ultrasound’s acoustic waves and these materials are called aberrating layers.