Ultrasound shear wave imaging

Abstract

Shear wave propagation properties including phase velocity and attenuation coefficient are indispensable information in materials characterization and nondestructive evaluation. A computer controlled scanning shear-wave ultrasonic imaging system has been developed. It consists of a pair of focusing broadband pvdf transducers of central frequency of 50 MHz immersed in distilled water. Shear waves in a solid specimen are generated by mode-conversion. When ultrasonic waves generated by one of the pvdf transducers impinge upon a solid specimen from water with angle of incidence of θ that is greater than θcr, the critical angle of the longitudinal wave in the solid, only shear waves can propagate in the solid and longitudinal waves become evanescent waves. The shear waves pass through the specimen and received by the other pvdf transducer. Meanwhile, the specimen was scanned by a stepped motor of a step of 10 μm. The system was used to generated shear waves amplitude and phase velocity images of bone specimen of 1280 μm and they are compared with their longitudinal wave counterparts. The results have shown shear wave images can provide additional shear modulus and shear viscous information that longitudinal waves can’t provide. The lateral resolution of 60 μm was achieved using shear wave imaging technique applied in bone sample.