Acoustic pressure field estimation methods for synthetic schlieren tomography

Area of Science:

• Optical physics
• Acoustics
• Imaging science

Background:

• Synthetic schlieren tomography is a novel 3D optical imaging technique.
• It studies ultrasound fields by analyzing light ray deflection caused by refractive index changes.
• Existing methods have limitations in certain ultrasound field configurations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate two new approaches for acoustic pressure field estimation.
• To compare these methods against a previously established technique.
• To assess performance in diverse ultrasound field scenarios.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing synthetic schlieren tomography with stroboscopic synchronization for stationary imaging.
• Developing regularized least-square optimization techniques based on potential flow and the Helmholtz equation.
• Validating methods through simulations in a telecentric setup.

Main Results:

• The proposed methods successfully estimate acoustic pressure fields.
• Quantitative and qualitative comparisons show improved or comparable performance to prior methods.
• Demonstrated efficiency in focused, obliquely propagating, and standing wave ultrasound fields.

Conclusions:

• The new regularized optimization approaches enhance acoustic pressure field estimation using synthetic schlieren tomography.
• These methods offer robust performance across various ultrasound field types, addressing limitations of previous techniques.