Mechanical bioeffects of acoustic droplet vaporization in vessel-mimicking phantoms

• We studied the mechanical bioeffects of acoustic droplet vaporization (ADV).
• Vessel wall erosion was initiated when ADV occurred with inertial cavitation.
• The damage severity was higher on the proximal wall than on the distal wall.
• The ultrasound distortion augmented the propensity of backward erosion.
• The results are valuable for controlling these effects in clinical applications.

This study investigated the mechanical bioeffects exerted by acoustic droplet vaporization (ADV) under different experimental conditions using vessel phantoms with a 200-μm inner diameter but different stiffness for imitating the microvasculature in various tumors. High-speed microscopy, passive cavitation detection, and ultrasound attenuation measurement were conducted to determine the morphological characteristics of vascular damage and clarify the mechanisms by which the damage was initiated and developed. The results show that phantom erosion was initiated under successive ultrasound exposure (2 MHz, 3 cycles) at above 8-MPa peak negative pressures (PNPs) when ADV occurred with inertial cavitation (IC), producing lesions whose morphological characteristics were dependent on the amount of vaporized droplets. Slight injury occurred at droplet concentrations below (2.6 ± 0.2) × 106 droplets/mL, forming shallow and rugged surfaces on both sides of the vessel walls. Increasing the droplet concentration to up to (2.6 ± 0.2) × 107 droplets/mL gradually suppressed the damage on the distal wall, and turned the rugged surface on the proximal wall into tunnels rapidly elongating in the direction opposite to ultrasound propagation. Increasing the PNP did not increase the maximum tunnel depth after the ADV efficiency reached a plateau (about 71.6 ± 2.7% at 10 MPa). Increasing the pulse duration effectively increased the maximum tunnel depth to more than 10 times the diameter of the vessel even though there was no marked enhancement in IC dose. It can be inferred that substantial bubble generation in single ADV events may simultaneously distort the acoustic pressure distribution. The backward ultrasound reinforcement and forward ultrasound shielding relative to the direction of wave propagation augment the propensity of backward erosion. The results of the present work provide information that is valuable for the prevention or utilization of ADV-mediated mechanical bioeffects in clinical applications.