Stirring and mixing of liquids using acoustic radiation force

Acoustic Radiation Force: A Review of Four Mechanisms for Biomedical Applications

Radiation force is a universal phenomenon in any wave motion where the wave energy produces a static or transient force on the propagation medium. The theory of acoustic radiation force (ARF) dates back to the early 19th century. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the biomedical applications of ARF. Following a brief history of ARF, this article describes a concise theory of ARF under four physical mechanisms of radiation force generation in tissue-like media. These mechanisms are primarily based on the dissipation of acoustic energy of propagating waves, the reflection of the incident wave, gradients of the compressional wave speeds, and the spatial variations of energy density in standing acoustic waves. Examples describing some of the practical applications of ARF under each mechanism are presented. This article concludes with a discussion on selected ideas for potential future applications of ARF in biomedicine.

Concentration of microparticles and bubbles in standing waves

This paper studies the collective dynamics of microparticles in plane and cylindrical resonators. Based on the known results regarding the motion of a single particle under the action of acoustic radiation force, concentration and separation of particles in standing waves are investigated. As an example, spherical particles (cells) with a slightly larger density and sound speed than those in ambient fluid are considered. Initial particle distribution is assumed to be almost homogeneous at the considered intervals. The formation of concentration peaks in plane standing waves and on the axis of a cylindrical system is demonstrated; additional concentration along the axis is possible. The possibility of an opposite process, i.e., keeping particles stirred by periodic change of acoustic wavelength, is confirmed as well. Distribution and separation of microbubbles of different sizes in a standing wave is also studied. Examples of available experimental data illustrating the relevance of the theory are given.

Biomedical applications of radiation force of ultrasound: historical roots and physical basis

Radiation force is a universal phenomenon in any wave motion, electromagnetic or acoustic. Although acoustic and electromagnetic waves are both characterized by time variation of basic quantities, they are also both capable of exerting a steady force called radiation force. In 1902, Lord Rayleigh published his classic work on the radiation force of sound, introducing the concept of acoustic radiation pressure, and some years later, further fundamental contributions to the radiation force phenomenon were made by L. Brillouin and P. Langevin. Many of the studies discussing radiation force published before 1990 were related to techniques for measuring acoustic power of therapeutic devices; also, radiation force was one of the factors considered in the search for noncavitational, nonthermal mechanisms of ultrasonic bioeffects. A major surge in various biomedical applications of acoustic radiation force started in the 1990s and continues today. Numerous new applications emerged including manipulation of cells in suspension, increasing the sensitivity of biosensors and immunochemical tests, assessing viscoelastic properties of fluids and biological tissues, elasticity imaging, monitoring ablation of lesions during ablation therapy, targeted drug and gene delivery, molecular imaging and acoustical tweezers. We briefly present in this review the major milestones in the history of radiation force and its biomedical applications. In discussing the physical basis of radiation force and its applications, we present basic equations describing the relationship of radiation stress with parameters of acoustical fields and with the induced motion in the biological media. Momentum and force associated with a plane-traveling wave, equations for nonlinear and nonsteady-state acoustic streams, radiation stress tensor for solids and biological tissues and radiation force acting on particles and microbubbles are considered.

Diversity of biomedical applications of acoustic radiation force

This manuscript is a summary of the paper presented at the ICU'2009 on biomedical applications of acoustic radiation force with emphasis on emerging applications in microfluidics, biotechnology, biosensors and assessment of the skeletal system. In this brief overview of current and projected applications of radiation force, no detailed description of the experiments illustrating particular applications are given as this would result in a far different and longer paper. Various mechanisms of acoustic radiation force generations and their biomedical applications are considered. These mechanisms include: (a) change in the density of energy of the propagating wave due to absorption and scattering; (b) spatial variations of energy density in standing acoustic waves; (c) reflection from inclusions, walls or other interfaces; and (d) spatial variations in propagation velocity. The widest area of biomedical applications of radiation force is related to medical diagnostics, to assessing viscoelastic properties of biological tissues and fluids, and specifically to elasticity imaging. Another actively explored area is related to manipulation of biological cells and particles in standing ultrasonic wave fields. There are several poorly explored areas of potential biomedical applications of ultrasound radiation force. A promising area of biomedical application of ultrasound radiation force is stirring and mixing of microvolumes of liquids in microfluidics and in various biotechnological application where diffusion rate is the main factor limiting the efficiency of the process of interest. A new technique, called "swept frequency method", based on the use of radiation force in the standing acoustic wave for microstirring of liquids is described. The potential applications of the ultrasound radiation force for assessment of skeletal system, where conventional bone ultrasonometry are inapplicable are considered.