TITLE:
Simulation of the Thermal and Mechanical Effects of a Planar Rectangular High Intensity Ultrasound Transducer to Be Used for Destroying Atherosclerotic Plaque
AUTHORS:
Christakis Damianou, C. Christofi, N. Mylonas
KEYWORDS:
Ultrasound; Atherosclerotic; Plaque; MRI
JOURNAL NAME:
Engineering,
Vol.5 No.10B,
November
1,
2013
ABSTRACT:
The aim of this study is to perform a simulation study
of the thermal and mechanical effects of a flat rectangular (3×10 mm2),MRI
compatible transducer operating at 5 MHz for the purpose of destroying
atherosclerotic plaque. The simulation study focuses on measuring the plaque
destruction (due to the thermal of mechanical mode of ultrasound) as a function
of power, time, frequency, duty factor and pulse duration. The main goal is to
keep the artery temperature at a safe level. The simulation study shows that
with the thermal mode the temperature in the artery cannot be kept at a safe
level.