Damage mechanisms for ultrasound-induced cavitation in tissue

摘要

In a variety of biomedical applications, cavitation occurs in soft tissue. Although significant amounts of research have been performed on cavitation in water, bubble dynamics, and related bioeffects remain poorly understood. We use numerical simulations of spherical bubble dynamics in soft tissue to assess the extent to which viscoelasticity affects "known" and introduces "new" damage mechanisms. We find that deviatoric stresses - although not an important damage mechanism in water - are significantly enhanced and could be an important bioeffect mechanism in tissue. Both the viscoelastic properties and the nonlinear, large-collapse radius contribute to stress amplification in the surroundings. In addition, temperatures in the surrounding medium increase more in the Zener tissue than in water, due to viscous heating.