An experimental high energy therapeutic ultrasound equipment: design and characterisation.

High energy ultrasound equipment for well controlled experimental work on extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) and hyperthermia has been built. The design of two sets of equipment with operating frequencies of 0.5 and 1.6 MHz, respectively, is described and characterised in terms of measured generated pressure fields. The treatment heads consist of six or seven focused ultrasound transducers. The transducers have a diameter of 50 mm each and are mounted in a hemispherical Plexiglass fixture with a geometrical focus 100 mm from the transducer surfaces. Measurements were performed in a water bath in several planes perpendicular to the central axis of the ultrasound beam, using a miniature hydrophone which was positioned with a computer controlled stepping motor system. Resulting diagram plots show well defined pressure foci, located at the geometrical foci of the transducer units.