Work

Study on Waveform Superposition and Ultrasonic Gain During Nonlinear Propagation of Ultrasound in Fibrin Clots

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Fibrin clots with strain-hardening characteristics exhibit pronounced material nonlinearity and acoustic dispersion under ultrasound, leading to waveform distortion and shock formation during finite-amplitude wave propagation. However, peak-shock stress is limited by viscoelastic dissipation and dispersion, constraining the efficiency of ultrasound in applications such as thrombus ablation. To overcome this limitation, a shock wave amplification method using designed multi-wave-packet sequences is proposed. Based on a power-law model from quasi-static compression tests, shock generation under a single sinusoidal pulse was first simulated. The dual-wave-packet chasing strategy was then developed, in which the amplitude, frequency, and time delay of the second packet were tuned to achieve effective superposition with the precursor. The waveform superposition factor (WSF) was introduced for quantitative evaluation. Numerical results demonstrate that this strategy can significantly increase the peak-shock-wave stress, with a maximum gain of 22.7%. Parametric analysis further identified amplitude as the dominant factor influencing wavefront steepness and amplification effectiveness. This study provides a novel method and theoretical support for developing efficient and controllable ultrasonic sequences for thrombolysis.

Source: Applied Sciences

DOI: 10.3390/app16021137

Authors: Linlin Zhang, Xiaomin Zhang, Fan Mo, Zhipeng Zhao

Institution: Chongqing University

Language: English

Topic: Ultrasonics and Acoustic Wave Propagation

Subfield: Mechanics of Materials

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896

Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China