The phase velocities in suspensions of Albunex®, an ultrasound contrast agent, are determined using the technique of broadband phase spectroscopy. In these suspensions, phase velocities were measured as a function of Albunex concentration in Isoton II (buffered saline). The dispersion over the measurement bandwidth (1–15 MHz) grew with increasing Albunex concentration, exhibiting a 221-m/s change (17% increase) in phase velocity between 1.0 and 3.8 MHz at the highest concentration reported (32 μL Albunex/8 mL Isoton). The dispersion behavior of the Albunex suspensions is described using a model of encapsulated gas bubbles. The influence of the dispersion in Albunex on broadband pulses is discussed, as well as the potential impact this dispersion may have on the formation of ultrasonic images of the heart.

Topics
Ultrasound, Ultrasonography, Wave mechanics, Spectroscopy, Contrast agents
1.
W.
Sachse
and
Y.-H.
Pao
, “
On the determination of phase and group velocities of dispersive waves in solids
,”
J. Appl. Phys.
49
,
4320
–
4327
(
1978
).
Google Scholar
Crossref
Search ADS
 
2.
R. A.
Kline
, “
Measurement of attenuation and dispersion using an ultrasonic spectroscopy technique
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
76
,
498
–
504
(
1984
).
Google Scholar
Crossref
Search ADS
 
3.
M. S. Hughes, “Applications of Local Approximations to the Kramers-Kronig Relations in Ultrasonics,” Ph.D. thesis, Washington University, 1987.
4.
J.
Wu
, “
Determination of velocity and attenuation of shear waves using ultrasonic spectroscopy
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
99
,
2871
–
2875
(
1996
).
Google Scholar
Crossref
Search ADS
 
5.
D.
Zellouf
,
Y.
Jayet
,
N.
Saint-Pierre
,
J.
Tatibouet
, and
J. C.
Baboux
, “
Ultrasonic spectroscopy in polymeric materials. Application of the Kramers–Kronig relations
,”
J. Appl. Phys.
80
,
2728
–
2732
(
1996
).
Google Scholar
Crossref
Search ADS
 
6.
J. N.
Marsh
,
C. S.
Hall
,
M. S.
Hughes
,
J.
Mobley
,
J. G.
Miller
, and
G. H.
Brandenburger
, “
Broadband through-transmission signal loss measurements of Albunex suspensions at concentrations approaching in vivo doses
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
101
,
1155
–
1161
(
1997
).
Google Scholar
Crossref
Search ADS
 
7.
C. S.
Hall
,
J. N.
Marsh
,
M. S.
Hughes
,
J.
Mobley
,
K. D.
Wallace
,
J. G.
Miller
, and
G. H.
Brandenburger
, “
Broadband measurements of the attenuation coefficient and backscatter coefficient for suspensions: A potential calibration tool
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
101
,
1162
–
1171
(
1997
).
Google Scholar
Crossref
Search ADS
 
8.
V. A.
Del Grosso
and
C. W.
Mader
, “
Speed of sound in pure water
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
52
,
1442
–
1446
(
1972
).
Google Scholar
Crossref
Search ADS
 
9.
N.
de Jong
,
L.
Hoff
,
T.
Skotland
, and
N.
Bom
, “
Absorption and scatter of encapsulated gas filled microspheres: theoretical considerations and some measurements
,”
Ultrasonics
30
(
2
),
95
–
103
(
1992
).
Google Scholar
Crossref
Search ADS
PubMed
 
10.
N.
de Jong
and
L.
Hoff
, “
Ultrasound scattering properties of Albunex microspheres
,”
Ultrasonics
31
(
3
),
175
–
181
(
1993
).
Google Scholar
Crossref
Search ADS
PubMed
 
11.
C. C.
Church
, “
The effects of an elastic solid layer on the radial pulsations of gas bubbles
,”
J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
97
,
1510
–
1521
(
1995
).
Google Scholar
Crossref
Search ADS
 
12.
M. W. Miller, M. Azadniv, Y. Doida, and A. A. Brayman, “Effect of a stabilized microbubble contrast agent on CW ultrasound induced red blood cell lysis in vitro,” Echocardiography 12(1), 1–11 (1995).
This content is only available via PDF.
© 1998 Acoustical Society of America.
1998
Acoustical Society of America
You do not currently have access to this content.