Pump-probe X-ray holographic imaging of laser-induced cavitation bubbles with femtosecond FEL pulses.

Cavitation bubbles can be seeded from a plasma following optical breakdown, by focusing an intense laser in water. The fast dynamics are associated with extreme states of gas and liquid, especially in the nascent state. This offers a unique setting to probe water and water vapor far-from equilibrium. However, current optical techniques cannot quantify these early states due to contrast and resolution limitations. X-ray holography with single X-ray free-electron laser pulses has now enabled a quasi-instantaneous high resolution structural probe with contrast proportional to the electron density of the object. In this work, we demonstrate cone-beam holographic flash imaging of laser-induced cavitation bubbles in water with nanofocused X-ray free-electron laser pulses. We quantify the spatial and temporal pressure distribution of the shockwave surrounding the expanding cavitation bubble at time delays shortly after seeding and compare the results to numerical simulations.

Positional stability and radial dynamics of sonoluminescent bubbles under bi-harmonic driving: Effect of the high-frequency component and its relative phase.

The use of bi-frequency driving in sonoluminescence has proved to be an effective way to avoid the spatial instability (pseudo-orbits) developed by bubbles in systems with high viscous liquids like sulfuric or phosphoric acids. In this work, we present extensive experimental and numerical evidence in order to assess the effect of the high frequency component (PAc(HF)) of a bi-harmonic acoustic pressure field on the dynamic of sonoluminescent bubbles in an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid. The present study is mainly focused on the role of the harmonic frequency (Nf0) and the relative phase between the two frequency components (φb) of the acoustic field on the spatial, positional and diffusive stability of the bubbles. The results presented in this work were analyzed by means of three different approaches. First, we discussed some qualitative considerations about the changes observed in the radial dynamics, and the stability of similar bubbles under distinct bi-harmonic drivings. Later, we have investigated, through a series of numerical simulations, how the use of high frequency harmonic components of different order N, affects the positional stability of the SL bubbles. Furthermore, the influence of φb in their radius temporal evolution is systematically explored for harmonics ranging from the second to the fifteenth harmonic (N=2-15). Finally, a multivariate analysis based on the covariance method is performed to study the dependences among the parameters characterizing the SL bubble. Both experimental and numerical results indicate that the impact of PAc(HF) on the positional instability and the radial dynamics turns to be progressively negligible as the order of the high frequency harmonic component grows (i.e. N ≫ 1), however its effectiveness on the reduction of the spatial instability remains unaltered or even improved.

Stable tridimensional bubble clusters in multi-bubble sonoluminescence (MBSL).

In the present work, stable clusters made of multiple sonoluminescent bubbles are experimentally and theoretically studied. Argon bubbles were acoustically generated and trapped using bi-frequency driving within a cylindrical chamber filled with a sulfuric acid aqueous solution (SA85w/w). The intensity of the acoustic pressure field was strong enough to sustain, during several minutes, a large number of positionally and spatially fixed (without pseudo-orbits) sonoluminescent bubbles over an ellipsoidally-shaped tridimensional array. The dimensions of the ellipsoids were studied as a function of the amplitude of the applied low-frequency acoustic pressure (PAc(LF)) and the static pressure in the fluid (P0). In order to explain the size and shape of the bubble clusters, we performed a series of numerical simulations of the hydrodynamic forces acting over the bubbles. In both cases the observed experimental behavior was in excellent agreement with the numerical results. The simulations revealed that the positionally stable region, mainly determined by the null primary Bjerknes force (F→Bj), is defined as the outer perimeter of an axisymmetric ellipsoidal cluster centered in the acoustic field antinode. The role of the high-frequency component of the pressure field and the influence of the secondary Bjerknes force are discussed. We also investigate the effect of a change in the concentration of dissolved gas on the positional and spatial instabilities through the cluster dimensions. The experimental and numerical results presented in this paper are potentially useful for further understanding and modeling numerous current research topics regarding multi-bubble phenomena, e.g. forces acting on the bubbles in multi-frequency acoustic fields, transient acoustic cavitation, bubble interactions, structure formation processes, atomic and molecular emissions of equal bubbles and nonlinear or unsteady acoustic pressure fields in bubbly media.

Reliable assessment of perfusivity and diffusivity from diffusion imaging of the body.

Diffusion-weighted MRI of the body has the potential to provide important new insights into physiological and microstructural properties. The intra-voxel incoherent motion (IVIM) model relates the observed DW-MRI signal decay to parameters that reflect perfusivity (D*) and its volume fraction (f), and diffusivity (D). However, the commonly used voxel-wise fitting of the IVIM model leads to parameter estimates with poor precision, which has hampered their practical usage. In this work, we increase the estimates' precision by introducing a model of spatial homogeneity, through which we obtain estimates of model parameters for all of the voxels at once, instead of solving for each voxel independently. Furthermore, we introduce an efficient iterative solver which utilizes a model-based bootstrap estimate of the distribution of residuals and a binary graph cut to generate optimal model parameter updates. Simulation experiments show that our approach reduces the relative root mean square error of the estimated parameters by 80% for the D* parameter and by 50% for the f and D parameters. We demonstrated the clinical impact of our model in distinguishing between enhancing and nonenhancing ileum segments in 24 Crohn's disease patients. Our model detected the enhanced segments with 91%/92% sensitivity/specificity which is better than the 81%/85% obtained by the voxel-independent approach.

Quantitative body DW-MRI biomarkers uncertainty estimation using unscented wild-bootstrap.

We present a new method for the uncertainty estimation of diffusion parameters for quantitative body DW-MRI assessment. Diffusion parameters uncertainty estimation from DW-MRI is necessary for clinical applications that use these parameters to assess pathology. However, uncertainty estimation using traditional techniques requires repeated acquisitions, which is undesirable in routine clinical use. Model-based bootstrap techniques, for example, assume an underlying linear model for residuals rescaling and cannot be utilized directly for body diffusion parameters uncertainty estimation due to the non-linearity of the body diffusion model. To offset this limitation, our method uses the Unscented transform to compute the residuals rescaling parameters from the non-linear body diffusion model, and then applies the wild-bootstrap method to infer the body diffusion parameters uncertainty. Validation through phantom and human subject experiments shows that our method identify the regions with higher uncertainty in body DWI-MRI model parameters correctly with realtive error of -36% in the uncertainty values.

Is there a role for abdominal computed tomographic scans in appendicitis?

OBJECTIVE: To better define the effectiveness of abdominal computed tomographic scanning (ACTS) in adult patients with suspected appendicitis. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: A community teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Ninety-seven patients with appendicitis in the differential diagnosis, whose clinical findings were insufficient to perform surgery or to discharge from the hospital, during a 14-month period. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Accuracy of ACTS, rate of appendectomies that show no appendicitis (negative appendectomy rate), and frequency of ACTS as a definitive diagnostic test. RESULTS: Forty-nine of the 50 patients with appendicitis were correctly diagnosed by ACTS. Forty-three of the 47 patients without appendicitis were correctly diagnosed by ACTS. Positive predictive value was 92%, negative predictive value was 98%, and accuracy was 96%. The ACTS group had a negative appendectomy rate of 5.8% (3/52), lower than the hospital rate of 14% for the preceding 3 years. The ACTS established an alternative diagnosis in 16 patients, allowed 10 other patients to be discharged early or not admitted, and was the critical diagnostic test in 30 of the patients with appendicitis. Therefore, the ACTS played a definitive role in the treatment of 56 (57.7%) of the 97 patients. CONCLUSIONS: The ACTS was an accurate test in the diagnosis of appendicitis and was of significant benefit in 57.7% of the patients studied. However, it was difficult to predict which patients were most likely to benefit. Expanded selective use of ACTS for patients with clinically indeterminate appendicitis may result in a lower negative appendectomy rate and fewer patient admissions for observation.