High power, low frequency ultrasound: meniscal tissue interaction and ablation characteristics
O'Daly, Brendan J., Morris, Edmund, Gavin, Graham P.ORCID: 0000-0003-3663-3419, O'Keane, Conor, O'Byrne, John M.ORCID: 0000-0002-7705-4344 and McGuinness, GarrettORCID: 0000-0002-1023-8667
(2011)
High power, low frequency ultrasound: meniscal tissue interaction and ablation characteristics.
Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, 37
(4).
pp. 556-567.
ISSN 0301-5629
This study evaluates high power low frequency ultrasound transmitted via a flat vibrating probe tip as an alternative technology for meniscal debridement in the bovine knee. An experimental force controlled testing rig was constructed using a 20kHz ultrasonic probe suspended vertically from a load cell. Effect of variation in amplitude of distal tip displacement (242-494µm peak-peak) settings and force (2.5-4.5N) on tissue removal rate (TRR) and penetration rate (PR) for fifty-two bovine meniscus samples was analyzed. Temperature elevation in residual meniscus was measured by embedded thermocouples and histological analysis. As amplitude or force increases, there is a linear increase in TRR (Mean: 0.9 to 11.2mg/s) and PR (Mean: 0.08 to 0.73mm/s). Maximum mean temperatures of 84.6°C and 52.3°C were recorded in residual tissue at 2mm and 4mm from the ultrasound probe-tissue interface. There is an inverse relationship between both amplitude and force, and temperature elevation, with higher settings resulting in less thermal damage.