B-field energy dependent phase lag dispersion in magnetomotive ultrasound imaging

Magnetomotive ultrasound imaging is an emerging technique where superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles can be used as an ultrasound contrast agent. A time-varying external magnetic field acts to move tissue embedded particles, and ultrasound is used to detect the resulting tissue movement. In experimental phantom studies we have observed a phase lag dispersion in the magnetomotive response in respect to applied time-varying magnetic field (B-field). We hypothesize that this dispersion is triggered by the strength of the applied B-field in combination with concentration of embedded nanoparticles in the region. The cohort response of the nanoparticles aligns as the magnetic field gets more energetic. Moreover, the tightening of the phase response indicate an asymptotic tapering towards a phase limit