ACOUSTIC GENERATION OF BUBBLES IN EXCISED CANINE URINARY BLADDERS

A high-intensity, 555-kHz acoustic field was used to generate bubbles within urinary bladders excised from dogs. Following the exposure, bubbles were visualized on a diagnostic ultrasound scanner with a 5-MHz in-line mechanical sector scanhead. Scattering of the high-intensity ultrasound by the bubbles was also observed during the exposure as high-amplitude scan lines. The bladders used had been surgically removed after tying off the ureters and urethra to prevent urine loss and exposure to external contaminants. Each bladder was sealed in a plastic bag filled with a degassed saline solution. The bladder was centered in a sealed degassed water path at the common focus of a 7-cm-diam transducer and a 10-cm-diam brass reflector. The 555-kHz transducer and reflector were both focused at 10 cm and were aligned coaxially. Using various acoustic pressure amplitudes, two, 10-s low-frequency exposures, separated by approximately 30 s, occurred at approximately 2-min intervals. Experiments on a single bladder lasted as long as 45 min. The sizes of the largest bubbles, which were easily imaged, were estimated from rise velocity measurements as 50-70-mu-m in radius, and pressure amplitudes used to generate those large bubbles were estimated as 10-20 bars. The detection of smaller bubbles was limited by the inability to clearly distinguish bubble echoes from artifacts caused by the reverberant field within the bladder. Visual inspection of the exterior and interior bladder wall showed no significant discoloration within the high intensity beam path. Results of this study indicate that bubbles might be generated in vivo from external sources for possible use as echo contrast agents and for studying the bioeffects of acoustic cavitation.