Development of Ultrasound Phantom Made of Transparent Material: Feasibility of Optical Particle Image Velocimetry.

OBJECTIVE: The need for ultrasound flow phantoms to validate ultrasound systems requires the development of materials that can clearly visualize the flow inside for measurement purposes. METHODS: A transparent ultrasound flow phantom material composed of poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel (PVA-H) with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and water solution manufactured using the freezing method and mixed with quartz glass powder to exhibit scattering effects is proposed. To achieve transparency of the hydrogel phantom, the refractive index (RI) was changed to match that of the glass by modifying the PVA concentration and the ratio of DMSO to water in the solvent. The feasibility of optical particle image velocimetry (PIV) was verified by comparing an acrylic rectangular cross-section channel with a rigid wall. After the feasibility tests, an ultrasound flow phantom was fabricated to conduct ultrasound B-mode visualization and Doppler-PIV comparison. DISCUSSION: The results revealed that the PIV measured through PVA-H material exhibited 0.8% error in the measured maximum velocity compared with PIV through the acrylic material. B-mode images are similar to real tissue visualization with a limitation of a higher sound velocity, when compared with human tissue, of 1792 m/s. Doppler measurement of the phantom revealed approximately 120% and 19% overestimation of maximum and mean velocities, respectively, compared with those from PIV. CONCLUSION: The proposed material possesses the advantage of the single-phantom ability to improve the ultrasound flow phantom for validation of flow.

Evaluation of detectability of differential type probe using directional eddy current for fibre waviness in CFRP.

This paper describes the detectability of eddy current testing (ECT) using directional eddy current for detection of in-plane fibre waviness in unidirectional carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminate. Three different types of probes, such as circular driving, symmetrical driving and uniform driving probe, were proposed, and the waviness angle was extracted from the contour map of the ECT signal by applying a Canny filter and a Hough transform. By comparing both the waviness angle estimated by ECT and that obtained by an X-ray CT image, the standard deviation (precision) and root mean square error (accuracy) were evaluated to discuss the detectability of these probes. The directional uniform driving probe shows the best detectability and can detect fibre waviness with a waviness angle of more than 2° in unidirectional CFRP. The probe shows a root mean square error of 1.90° and a standard deviation of 4.49° between the actual waviness angle and the angle estimated by ECT. This article is part of the theme issue 'Advanced electromagnetic non-destructive evaluation and smart monitoring'.

Antithrombotic Protein Filter Composed of Hybrid Tissue-Fabric Material has a Long Lifetime.

There are recent reports of hybrid tissue-fabric materials with good performance-high biocompatibility and high mechanical strength. In this study, we demonstrate the capability of a hybrid material as a long-term filter for blood proteins. Polyester fabrics were implanted into rats to fabricate hybrid tissue-fabric material sheets. The hybrid materials comprised biological tissue grown on the fabric. The materials were extracted from the rat's body, approximately 100 days post-implantation. The tissues were decellularized to prevent immunological rejection. An antithrombogenicity test was performed by dropping blood onto the hybrid material surface. The hybrid material showed lesser blood coagulation than polysulfone and cellulose. Blood plasma was filtered using the hybrid material to evaluate the protein removal percentage and the lifetime of the hybrid material in vitro. The hybrid material showed a comparable performance to conventional filters for protein removal. Moreover, the hybrid material could work as a protein filter for 1 month, which is six times the lifetime of polysulfone.

Induction of neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells treated with temperature-controlled repeated thermal stimulation.

To promote the functional restoration of the nervous system following injury, it is necessary to provide optimal extracellular signals that can induce neuronal regenerative activities, particularly neurite formation. This study aimed to examine the regulation of neuritogenesis by temperature-controlled repeated thermal stimulation (TRTS) in rat PC12 pheochromocytoma cells, which can be induced by neurotrophic factors to differentiate into neuron-like cells with elongated neurites. A heating plate was used to apply thermal stimulation, and the correlation of culture medium temperature with varying surface temperature of the heating plate was monitored. Plated PC12 cells were exposed to TRTS at two different temperatures via heating plate (preset surface temperature of the heating plate, 39.5°C or 42°C) in growth or differentiating medium for up to 18 h per day. We then measured the extent of growth, neuritogenesis, or acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activity (a neuronal marker). To analyze the mechanisms underlying the effects of TRTS on these cells, we examined changes in intracellular signaling using the following: tropomyosin-related kinase A inhibitor GW441756; p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor SB203580; and MAPK/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) kinase (MEK) inhibitor U0126 with its inactive analog, U0124, as a control. While a TRTS of 39.5°C did not decrease the growth rate of cells in the cell growth assay, it did increase the number of neurite-bearing PC12 cells and AChE activity without the addition of other neuritogenesis inducers. Furthermore, U0126, and SB203580, but not U0124 and GW441756, considerably inhibited TRTS-induced neuritogenesis. These results suggest that TRTS can induce neuritogenesis and that participation of both the ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK signaling pathways is required for TRTS-dependent neuritogenesis in PC12 cells. Thus, TRTS may be an effective technique for regenerative neuromedicine.

High fidelity virtual stenting (HiFiVS) for intracranial aneurysm flow diversion: in vitro and in silico.

A flow diverter (FD) is a flexible, densely braided stent-mesh device placed endoluminally across an intracranial aneurysm to induce its thrombotic occlusion. FD treatment planning using computational virtual stenting and flow simulation requires accurate representation of the expanded FD geometry. We have recently developed a high fidelity virtual stenting (HiFiVS) technique based on finite element analysis to simulate detailed FD deployment processes in patient-specific aneurysms (Ma et al. J. Biomech. 45:2256-2263,(2012)). This study tests if HiFiVS simulation can recapitulate real-life FD implantation. We deployed two identical FDs (Pipeline Embolization Device) into phantoms of a wide-necked segmental aneurysm using a clinical push-pull technique with different delivery wire advancements. We then simulated these deployment processes using HiFiVS and compared results against experimental recording. Stepwise comparison shows that the simulations precisely reproduced the FD deployment processes recorded in vitro. The local metal coverage rate and pore density quantifications demonstrated that simulations reproduced detailed FD mesh geometry. These results provide validation of the HiFiVS technique, highlighting its unique capability of accurately representing stent intervention in silico.

Proton-conducting ionic liquids based upon multivalent anions and alkylimidazolium cations.

Alkylimidazolium type ionic liquids have been prepared with acidic anions derived from multivalent anions with the expectation of excellent thermal properties and ionic conductivity, including proton conduction.