Non-Contact Measurement of Surface Wave Speeds and Young's Moduli of Soft Tissue and Materials Using Parabolic-Type Airborne Ultrasonic Transducer

摘要

Demands of non-contact measurements have been increased in medical, agricultural, and industrial fields. However, there are few studies about non-contact measurement of elastic properties of soft materials. Especially, quantitative values such as shear wave speed and Young's modulus have not been studied. In addition, measurement of sol materials has not been studied yet. In this report, the possibilities about measurements of surface wave speeds and Young's moduli of soft-solid, gel, and sol were experimentally investigated by using airborne ultrasound as a fundamental study about non-contact and quantitative measurements of elastic properties. In the experiments, ultrasound waves were focused on the surface of beef round, tissue-mimicking phantom, jelly, kamaboko (pureed white fish), and toothpaste to produce surface wave by using parabolic reflector made by 3D printer. A laser Doppler velocimeter measured vibration of the samples. Surface wave speeds and Young's moduli were estimated. We confirmed the results agreed with reference values.