Tracking The Motion Of Cavitation Bubbles Using Pulsed Doppler

Echo-contrast agent microbubbles in blood can sometimes penetrate a clot that is blocking bulk flow in the vessel. When ultrasound is applied for the purpose of sonothrombolysis, microbubbles can be forced by acoustic radiation force into the clot matrix. To monitor the extent of this penetration, a 20 MHz pulsed Doppler method was employed to measure both the position of the bubble front in the clot and its velocity. Correlations between clot dissolution and the location of the advancing microbubble front may be used to optimize cavitational activity and improve sonothrombolysis