• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.114-119
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• 2005

Since the degradation caused by corrosion is restricted to the surface of materials, conventional ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation methods based on ultrasonic bulk waves are not applicable to characterization of the corrosion degradation. To take care of this difficulty, a new nondestructive evaluation method that uses ultrasonic backward radiation has been proposed recently. This paper explores the potential of this newly developed method for nondestructive characterization and in-situ monitoring of corrosion degradation. Specifically, backward radiated ultrasounds from aged thermo-mechanically controlled process (TMCP) steel specimens by corrosion fatigue were measured and their characteristics were correlated to those of the aged specimens. The excellent correlation observed in the present study demonstrates the high potential of the backward radiated ultrasound as an effective tool for nondestructive characterization of corrosion degradation. In addition, the potential of the backward radiated ultrasound to in-situ monitoring of corrosion degradation is under current investigation.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.367-372
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• 2008

ZnO nanorod gas sensors were prepared by an ultrasound radiation method and their gas sensing properties were investigated for NO gas. For this procedure, 0.01, 0.005 and 0.001M of zinc nitrate hydrate [$Zn(NO_3)_2\;{\cdot}\;6H_2O$] and hexamethyleneteramine [$C_6H_{12}N_4$] aqueous solutions were prepared and then the solution was irradiated with high intensity ultrasound for 1 h. The lengths of ZnO nanorods ranged from 200 nm to 500 nm with diameters ranging from 40 nm to 80 nm. The size of the ZnO nanorods could be controlled by the concentration of solution. The sensing characteristics of these nanostructures were investigated for three kinds of sensor. The properties of the sensors were influenced by the morphology of the nanorods.

• The Journal of Korean Orthopaedic Ultrasound Society
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.49-66
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• 2014

Traditionally, cervical interventions have been performed under fluoroscopy. But radiation exposure is the major concern when obtaining fluoroscopic images and even under real-time fluoroscopy with contrast media or CT guidance, some cases of serious spinal cord injuries, cerebellar and brain stem infarction have been reported by unintentional intra-arterial injections especially during the transforaminal root blocks. Recently, the use of ultrasound-guided cervical interventions have increased. Ultrasound offers visualization of soft tissues including major neurovascular structures and also allows to observe the spread of injectant materials around the target structure. Ultrasound is radiation free, easy to use and the image can be performed continuously while the injectant is visualized in real-time, increasing the precision of injection. Importantly, ultrasound allows visualization of major nerves and vessels and thus leads to improve safety of cervical interventions by decreasing the incidence of injury or injection into nearby vasculature. We therefore reviewed to investigate the feasibility of performing cervical interventions under real-time ultrasound guidance.

• Clinical Pain
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.86-92
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• 2021

Ultrasound imaging in clinical practice is one of the widely used diagnostic methods because there is no radiation risk, more cost- effective compared to MRI or CT, and possible to perform an intervention through fast real-time imaging. In order to increase the diagnostic value, the studies of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) using an ultrasound contrast agent have been actively conducted since about 50 years ago and are being used clinically in vascularity and microcirculation of internal organs. Although ultrasound is actively used for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases in musculoskeletal disorders, there are some limitations in diagnosing mild or small lesions, inflammatory reactions, or abnormalities at the molecular level. In this review, the principles, types, and research, and clinical applications of ultrasound contrast agents have been summarized and introduced. If we understand the characteristics of the ultrasound contrast agents and anatomical knowledge, as well as molecular changes, the ultrasound contrast agents are widely applied in musculoskeletal disorders and have tremendous potential for diagnosis and treatment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.53-53
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• 2003

For evaluating the feasibility of treating recurrent lesions in the vaginal cuff and cervix by hyperthermia, ultrasound applicators were designed, constructed, and characterized. For the treatment A half-cylindrical transducer Cd=1cm, length=lcm) and cylindrical transducer (d=2.5cm, length= 1.5cm) were used to construct ovoid type and cylindrical applicators. For the ovoid type applicator, each element was operated at 1.5MHz and characterized by measuring transducer efficiency and acoustic power distribution. Thermocouple probes were used to measure the temperature rise in phantom. The element sizes used in this study were selected to be comparable for high dose rate brachytherapy colpostat applicator. Each element was powered separately to achieve a desired temperature pattern in a target. The acoustic output power as a function of applied electric power of the element 1 and 2 was linear over this 1 to 40 W range and efficiencies were 32.2${\pm}$3.4% and 46.2${\pm}$0.8%, respectively. The temperature measurements in phantom showed that 6$^{\circ}C$ temperature rise was achieved at 2 cm from the applicator surface. As a conclusion, the ability of the ultrasound colpostat applicator to be used for hyperthermia was demonstrated by measuring acoustic output power, ultrasound field distribution, and temperature rise in phantom. Based on the characteristics of this applicator, it has the potential to be useful for inducing hyperthermnia to the vaginal cuff in clinic.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.227-230
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to design and construct an ultrasound phantom for volume calibration and evaluate the volume measurement accuracy of a 2 dimensional ultrasonic system. Ultrasound phantom was designed, constructed and tested. The phantom consisted of a background material and a target. The background was made by mixing agarose gel with water. A target, made with an elastic material, was filled with water to vary its volume and shape and inserted into background material. To evaluate accuracy of a 2 dimensional ultrasonic system (128XP, ACUSON), three different shapes of targets (a sphere, 2 ellipsoids and a triangular prism) were constructed. In case of ellipsoid shape, two targets, one with same size length and width (ellipsoid 1) and another with the length 2 times longer than width (ellipsoid 2) were examined. The target volumes of each shape were varied from 94cc to 450cc and measurement accuracy was examined. The volume difference between the real and measured target of the sphere shape ranged between 6.7 and 11%. For the ellipsoid targets, the differences ranged from 9.2 to 10.5% with ellipsoid 1 and 25.7% with ellipsoid 2. The volume difference of the triangular prism target ranged between 20.8 and 35%. An easy and simple method of constructing an ultrasound phantom was introduced and it was possible to check the volume measurement accuracy of an ultrasound system.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.1084-1092
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• 2002

The frequency dependency of Rayleigh surface wave is investigated indirectly by measuring the angular dependency of the backward radiation of the incident ultrasonic wave in two kinds of degraded specimens by scuffing or corrosion. Then, the frequency dependency is compared with the residual stress distribution or the corrosion-fatigue characteristics for the scuffed or corroded specimens, respectively. The width of the backward radiation profile increases with the increase of the variation in residual stress distribution for the scuffed specimens. In the corroded specimens, the profile width decreases with the increase of the effective aging layer thickness and is inversely proportional to the exponent, m, in the Paris' law that can predict the crack size increase due to fatigue. The result observed in this study demonstrates high potential of backward radiated ultrasound as a tool for nondestructive evaluation of subsurface gradient of material degradation generated by scuffing or corrosion.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.2401-2404
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• 2007

Particle size of silicones can be controlled by changing the reaction conditions such as temperature and concentrations of water and tetramethoxysilane (TMOS). Alternatively, the use of ultrasound radiation is also an elegant technique to decrease the particle size. Small silicone particles can be obtained at low temperature from diluted reagent containing TMOS, especially under the powerful ultrasound radiation. The size control may be explained by the rate of particle growth rather than that of nucleation.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.151-160
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• 2012

In medical ultrasound imaging, elasticity imaging helps to diagnose tumors such as cancer. This paper is concerned with the application of acoustic radiation force to soft tissue of interest to implement elasticity imaging. In order to reduce the data acquisition time, instead of relying on transmit focusing, a plane wave of burst type is transmitted to apply the acoustic radiation force simultaneously to an entire imaging region to be observed. A homogeneous phantom experiment confirms that increasing the transmit excitation duration instead of employing transmit focusing generates a high enough acoustic radiation force to obtain elasticity images. It is found, however, that a different displacement versus time characteristic is observed unlike the case of using a conventional focused acoustic radiation force. Experimental results obtained through the use of an ultrasound phantom and a bovine liver show that lesions can be correctly differentiated.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.2322-2327
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• 2002

The corrosion degradation characteristics of the 12Cr alloy steel, which is widely used in fossil power plants as a turbine blade material, are evaluated nondestructively by use of the backward radiated Rayleigh surface wave. In order to evaluate corrosion degradation characteristics, we constructed automated system for the backward radiation, and the frequency dependency of the Rayleigh surface wave is investigated indirectly by measuring the angular dependency of the backward radiation of the incident ultrasonic wave in the specimens. The velocity of the surface wave decrease as the increase of the aging time in the backward radiation profile, which seems to result from the increase of the effective degrading layer thickness. And, amplitude of the surface wave increase as the aging time, which seems to result from the increase of the intergranular corrosion. The result observed in this study demonstrates high potential of the backward radiated ultrasound as a tool for the nondestructive evaluation of the corrosion degradation characteristics of the aged materials.