Picosecond grating spectroscopy for characterizing the acoustic properties of biological material

We present measurements of the ultrasound attenuation and sound velocity of a number of liquids, transparent biological materials (the vitreous and lens of the bovine eye), and biological fluids (whole blood) at frequencies between 925 and 1020 MHz by using a picosecond thermal grating. Sound velocity and attenuation measurements of liquids (e.g., methanol and ethanol) agree very well with those reported in the literature. The sound velocity in the biological materials studied also agrees with the reported values in the literature. In contrast, the attenuation coefficients measured for biological materials, 2000-5000 dB/cm, are much higher than would be extrapolated from published low-frequency data.