Extender material for ultrasonic diagnostic investigations - comprises thermo-reversibly crosslinked styrene-butadiene block copolymer in liq. paraffin, has good mechanical stability and acoustic properties matched to tissue

摘要

Material consists of (1) at least 5 wt.% SEBS block copolymer (I) of aromatic content 35-50 wt.% and (2) at least 80 wt.% paraffin mixt. (II) of C no. 20-40. Pref. (I) has wt. at least 50 kg/mole and the material may include without influencing its mechanical or acoustic properties, further polymeric additives, specific medicaments, perfumes and opt. nontoxic colours. USE/ADVANTAGE - The material is useful in human and veterinary medicine for ultrasonic examinations of both hard and soft (pressure-deformable) parts of the body, including critical and difficultly accessible regions. It serves as a sound-conducting bridge having optimum transmission of the ultrasonic signal, i.e. sound velocity and impedance closely match those of human tissue, thus providing optimum image quality (strong contrast without artefacts). The material retains its shape and dimensional stability for a long time without requiring an external casing; shows no outwards diffusion of low mol. wt. (II) components; and its elastic and mechanical properties can be adjsuted by varying the (I):(II) ratio or by adding other polymers. It is relatively resistant to abrasion and can be used to examine e.g. the thyroid, breast or testes. Organs in children or very thin people can also be examine