Comparison of Sound Pressure Distribution Determined by Numerical Analysis and Scaled-Up Experiment for Small Ultrasonic Probe with Lens

Abstract

Ultrasonic medical equipment is used in not only diagnosis but also therapy such as that for treating hyperthermia. Many researchers are also studying high-frequency ultrasonic imaging systems with interluminal or catheter transducers. In both applications, an acoustic lens might improve the characteristics of ultrasonic medical probes. In this paper, a small acoustic lens for an ultrasonic catheter-type probe is described. The conventional three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (3D FDTD) with orthogonal coordinates requires a large memory and a long calculation time to estimate the characteristics of the lens. To overcome these disadvantages, a simple two-dimensional (2D) FDTD calculation based on symmetry is proposed in this paper. A virtual spherical sound source whose amplitude distribution is equal to that of the sound propagation field of an actual sound source is also used to simplify the calculation. A numerical model of the lens with a lens holder is constructed. The experimental results agree well with the calculated results with the lens holder.