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THERAPEUTIC ULTRASOUND (US)
Sagar Naik,
PT
1
Therapeutic Ultrasound (US)
Sagar Naik,
PT
Sound is defined as the periodic mechanical disturbance of an elastic medium such as air. Sound requires a medium for its transmission and cannot cross avacuum.
Ultrasound refers to mechanical vibrations, which are essentially the same as sound waves but of a higher frequency.
Such waves are beyond the range of humanhearing and can therefore also be called
ultrasonic
.
Vibration merges with sound at frequencies around 20 Hz; vibration below thisfrequency is often called
infrasound
or
infrasonic
.
Audible sound – 20 to 20000 Hz
Ultrasound – Greater then 20000 Hz
Infrasound – Less than 20 Hz
Therapeutic ultrasound – 0.5 to 5 MHz – 1 to 3 MHz
The
wavelength
is the distance between the closest points on the wave that areperforming the same motion at any instant in time.
The
frequency
is the number of times a particle undergoes a complete cycle in onesecond.
The
velocity of a wave
is the speed at which the wave moves through themedium, and varies depending upon the physical nature of the medium.
Nature of Sonic (Sound) Waves:
Sonic waves are series of mechanical compressions and rarefactions in the direction of travel of the wave, hence they are called longitudinal waves.
Theycan occur in solids, liquids, and gases and are due to regular compression andseparation of molecules.rarefaction compression
THERAPEUTIC ULTRASOUND (US)
Sagar Naik,
PT
2
The passage of these waves of compression through matter is invisible because itis the molecules that vibrate about their average position as a result of the sonicwave.
It is energy that travels and not the matter.
As sound waves pass through any material their energy is dissipated or attenuated.
Sometimes all the energy is absorbed at once; sometimes the soundwave passes with almost no loss.
The molecules of all matter are in constant random motion; the amount of
molecular agitation
is what is measured as heat –
the greater the molecular movement, the greater the heat
.
As the molecules jostle one another energy will be transferred from one to another so that some will oscillate at higher frequencies and with greater amplitude because they have gained energy while others will be at lower frequencies and amplitudes because their energy has been transferred by collision.
When sonic vibration is applied to a material it is superimposed on the existingmotions and will add to them. The ultimate result is that the regular sonic waveenergy tends to become randomized as the energy it gives to particular molecularmotions becomes spread out in collisions with other molecules. In this way thesonic energy is steadily converted to heat energy.
The rate at which this exchange occurs will depend on both the nature of the material and the frequency of the sonic wave.
Thus the ratio of transmission toabsorption of sonic waves differs in different materials and varies with frequencyof the sonic energy.
Sound waves will pass more rapidly through material in which the molecules areclose together,
thus their velocity is higher in solids and liquids than in gases
.
Air – 344 m/s
Water – 1410 m/s
Salt water – 1500 m/s
Muscle – 1540 m/s
At other frequencies ultrasound is used for various purposes.
In industry low-frequency ultrasound is used for many cleaning and mixing processes since efficient vibration of very small particles is achieved.
It can also be used for cutting and engraving as well as detecting cracks in metal such as welding defects.
The other major medical uses of ultrasound are in body imaging and dental drills / descalers.
These latter usually operate at between 20 to 60 kHz.
THERAPEUTIC ULTRASOUND (US)
Sagar Naik,
PT
3
Production of Therapeutic Ultrasound:
Piezoelectrical transducers
are used to achieve the high-frequency ultrasoundenergy needed for imaging and therapy.
These are suitably cut crystals, which change shape under the influence of an electric charge.
Many types of crystal can be used but the most favored are
quartz
, which occursnaturally, and some synthetic ceramic materials such as
barium titanate
and
lead zirconate titanate (PZT)
. These crystals deform when subjected to a varyingpotential difference –
a piezo-electric effect
.
[
Piezo-electric effect:
The production of a small e.m.f. across certainsubstances on being subjected to external pressure. Such substances areknown as piezo-electric substances.]
The crystal must be cut to suitable dimensions – the most important being the thickness – so that it will resonate at the chosen frequency and so achieve maximum vibration.
In order to apply the electric charges, metal electrodes must be fixed to thecrystal.
If a suitable metal plate is fixed to one surface of the crystal while the opposite surface is in air, then almost all the vibrational energy is transmitted from the crystal to the plate and hence to any solid or liquid to which it is applied.
This is the
treatment head
, which is used to transmit sonic energy to thetissues.
The other essential parts of a
therapeutic ultrasound generator are a circuit to produce oscillating voltages to drive the transducer and s controlling circuit,which can turn the oscillator on and off to give a pulsed output
.
A suitable circuit can maintain a constantly oscillating electric charge to cause the piezoelectric crystal to change shape at the same frequency and so drive the metal plate backwards and forwards also at the same high frequency, producing a train of sonic compression waves in any medium with which it isin contact.
A suitable resistance circuit is provided to control the amplitude of an electrical oscillations which in turn controls the magnitude of the mechanical vibration of the crystal and hence the amplitude of the sonic wave.
This amplitude is referred to as the intensity and is the energy crossing unit area in unit time perpendicular to the sonic beam.
It is therefore measured inwatts per square centimeter (i.e., joules/sec/cm
2
).
Current supplied to the oscillator circuit can be automatically switched on and off to produce a pulsed output, typically giving ratios 1:1 or 1:4.
A meter is often included which measures the electrical oscillations applied to thecrystal but not the vibration of the crystal.
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