Ultrasound Imaging.

Important step for the world as the first acoustic field rotator may help to improve and build the capabilities of medical ultrasound imaging devices, scientists report. (Mar. 7 , 2014) - A Chinese - U.S . research team is exploring the use of metamaterials - artificial materials engineered to have exotic properties not found in nature - that's manipulative devices to create sound in a versatile and unprecedented ways. In the journal applied physics letters, the team reports a simple design for a device, called All rotatory an acoustic field, Which wave fronts inside cans twist it so that's Sonny to be reflected to be propagating from another direction."Numerous research efforts have centered on metamaterial -based devices with fascinating wave - control capabilities The annual illusion or invisibility cloaks , "said Jian- chun Cheng, a professor at Nanjing University. "An acoustic field rotator, however, Which cans be [Considered] a special kind of illusion cloak with the capability of making an object to be reflected acoustically like a rotated one, does not exist yet.

"Field rotators for electromagnetism waves and liquid waves have already been demonstrated and show Promise in their respective areas. However, this has not been achieved in the sound waves up to now. "Important another type of classical wave, an acoustic wave, is a much more familiar part of our daily lives and could find applications in a variety of situations, "Cheng TLP. Cheng and colleagues designed believe what could turn out to be the first feasible acoustic rotator model and also fabricated a prototype to validate it. Said "we were surprised to discover that by using metamaterials, acoustic waves cans be rotated in a manner similar to electromagnetism or liquid wave their counterparts - so sound has finally joined the club, "Cheng said. Another surprise was the team discovered that's acoustic and electromagnetism rotor designed cans be based on the same principles. In this case, the researchers used anisotropic metamaterials, Which possess physical properties along that's Differ Different directions. "It's much easier to implement a highly anisotropic acoustic meta materials. Ones than electromagnetism and an acoustic rotator may provide even better performance than its [electromagnetism] Counterparts, "said Cheng.

The acoustic their hopes are as a team to produce prototype rotator, with its ability to freely manipulative acoustic wave-fronts, will dramatically improved the operation of medical devices like ultrasound machines, Which Require the precise control of acoustic waves . The ability to rotate the sound waves Could dramatically improved the contrast of ultrasound devices and Allow Them to diagnose or image Damaged Tissue diseases in ways they currently can not. This is and significant because ultrasound devices may be cheaper than other imaging modalities and do not use X - rays. "We've fabricated the easiest proof -of -concept device, Which at this point can not serve as a mature and some practical device, so it's worth further improvement and optimization , " said Cheng. In the future , acoustic rotors could "serve as useful building blocks for constructing more complex structures with richer functionality acoustic manipulation, if properly combined with other kinds of components, " he added.