Work

Focusing of Shear Shock Waves

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: Focusing is an ubiquitous mode of transforming waves---even within the human body, as it turns out. Recently, high-frame-rate ultrasound has enabled the observation of shear shock waves in soft solids, such as the brain. The present study uses that technique to further show that shear waves emitted by a cylindrical source into tissue-mimicking gelatin can be focused, and that they form a shock at the focus. This could explain why traumatic brain injuries, such as diffuse axonal injury, occur deep inside the organ, rather than near the skull.

Source: Physical Review Applied

DOI: 10.1103/physrevapplied.9.014011

Authors: Bruno Giammarinaro, David Espíndola, François Coulouvrat, Gianmarco Pinton