Lung damage from exposure to pulsed ultrasound

Ultrasound Med Biol. 1990;16(8):817-25. doi: 10.1016/0301-5629(90)90046-f.

Abstract

Motivated by a recent finding that threshold pressures for hemorrhage in mouse lung exposed to the fields of an electrohydraulic lithotripter were less than 2 MPa, we extended the exposures to pulsed ultrasound. Sharply defined thresholds of the order of 1 MPa were found with 10 microseconds length pulses and roughly twice that value for 1 microsecond pulses. The thresholds at 4 MHz are greater than at 1 MHz. The thresholds are comparable for focused and unfocused fields. As would be expected for a cavitation-like phenomenon, temporal average intensity is a very poor predictor of this effect. In the extreme case, lesions were found at temporal average intensities on the order of 1 mW/cm2.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Hemorrhage / etiology*
  • Lung Diseases / etiology*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C3H
  • Ultrasonics / adverse effects*