Arbitrarily Shapeable Couplant with Fluidity Onset for Conformal Ultrasound

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Acoustics

Background:

• Ultrasound examinations require couplants for efficient acoustic coupling.
• Existing liquid or solid couplants have limitations in shape adaptability and operational feasibility.
• Conformal contact is critical for accurate ultrasound imaging, especially on complex geometries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an ideal ultrasound couplant with combined solid and liquid properties.
• To address the limitations of current couplants in achieving shape adaptability and operational feasibility.
• To enhance ultrasound imaging capabilities for challenging applications.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel couplant material using fibers and dynamically cross-linked polysilicone.
• Characterization of the material's stress-triggered solid-to-fluid transition.
• Evaluation of the couplant's acoustic transparency and adaptability to arbitrary geometries.
• Testing the couplant's performance in ultrasound examinations on challenging targets.

Main Results:

• The developed couplant exhibits a unique solid-to-fluid transition upon exceeding a stress threshold.
• The material demonstrates excellent acoustic transparency and conformal adaptation to complex shapes under stress.
• Stable performance is maintained after stress release, ensuring reliable long-term ultrasound examinations.
• Successful ultrasound imaging was achieved on steeply curved geometries and pressure-sensitive tissues.

Conclusions:

• The novel fiber-based, dynamically cross-linked polysilicone couplant integrates the advantages of both liquids and solids.
• This stress-triggered fluid couplant overcomes limitations of existing materials for ultrasound applications.
• It offers new possibilities for industrial and medical ultrasound, particularly for challenging imaging scenarios.