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Sound Bullets for Enhanced Biomedical Ultrasound Systems
A granular material consists of a conglomeration of discrete solid, macroscopic particles. Granular chains are usually defined as one-dimensional alignments of generally spherical particles. The interactions between such particles are governed by the laws of contact mechanics. The study of the generation of solitary waves in granular chains is of interest to a range of disciplines in science and engineering, and has recently been extended to biomedical applications.
This project aims to produce a new generation of ultrasonic devices exploiting the generation of solitary waves in granular chains. This work is being carried out in conjunction with the University of Warwick and the University of Leeds, with whom a multidisciplinary team has been assembled to study and quantify this phenomenon, theoretically and experimentally, at frequencies relevant to biomedical applications. It is anticipated that harnessing the high-amplitude and wide-bandwidth signals resulting from the nonlinear transduction mechanisms will lead to advances in diagnostic and therapeutic biomedical ultrasound equipment.
This project is funded via Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council grant number EP/K030159/1.
Dr Pierre Gélat