Physical Principles of Medical Ultrasonics

The physical properties of ultrasound, particularly its highly directional beam behaviour, and its complex interactions with human tissues, have led to its becoming a vitally important tool in both investigative and interventional medicine, and one that still has much exciting potential. This new edition of a well-received book treats the phenomenon of ultrasound in the context of medical and biological applications, systematically discussing fundamental physical principles and concepts. Rather than focusing on earlier treatments, based largely on the simplifications of geometrical acoustics, this book examines concepts of wave acoustics, introducing them in the very first chapter. Practical implications of these concepts are explored, first the generation and nature of acoustic fields, and then their formal descriptions and measurement. Real tissues attenuate and scatter ultrasound in ways that have interesting relationships to their physical chemistry, and the book includes coverage of these topics. Physical Principles of Medical Ultrasonics also includes critical accounts and discussions of the wide variety of diagnostic and investigative applications of ultrasound that are now becoming available in medicine and biology. The book also encompasses the biophysics of ultrasound, its practical applications to therapeutic and surgical objectives, and its implications in questions of hazards to both patient and operator.

Table of Contents:
List of Contributors. Preface. Chapter 1. Basic Acoustic Theory (S. Leeman). Chapter 2. The Generation and Structure of Acoustic Fields (C. Hill). Chapter 3. Detection and Measurement of Acoustic Fields (C. Hill). Chapter 4. Attenuation and Absorption (J. Bamber). Chapter 5. Speed of Sound (J. Bamber). Chapter 6. Reflection and Scattering (R. Dickinson and D. Nassiri). Chapter 7. Physical Chemistry of the Ultrasound-tissue Interaction (A. Sarvazyan and C. HIll). Chapter 8. Ultrasonic Images and the Eye of the Observer (C. Hill). Chapter 9. Methodology for Clinical Investigation (C. Hill and J. Bamber). Chapter 10. Methodology for Imaging Time-Dependent Phenomena (R. Eckersley and J. Bamber). Chapter 11. The Wider Context of Sonography (C. Hill). Chapter 12. Ultrasonic Biophysics (G. ter Haar). Chapter 13. Therapeutic and Surgical Applications (ter Haar). Chapter 14. Assessment of possible Hazard in Use (G. ter Haar). Chapter 15. Epilogue: Historical Perspectives (C. Hill). List of Symbols. Index.

About the Author :
C. R. Hill is the editor of Physical Principles of Medical Ultrasonics, 2nd Edition, published by Wiley. J. C. Bamber is the editor of Physical Principles of Medical Ultrasonics, 2nd Edition, published by Wiley. G. R. ter Haar is the editor of Physical Principles of Medical Ultrasonics, 2nd Edition, published by Wiley.

Review :
"…an excellent reference, providing a starting point and more for the many avenues of interest in this rich and important topic." (Medical Physics, December 2004) "This book can be an excellent textbook for a graduate course in medical ultrasonics and a valuable desk reference for researchers in the field." (IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology, July/ August 2004) “This is an excellent update to the first edition of this book and should form a standard reference for many years to come.  (Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, Vol.30, No.5, 2004) “I know of no other book that treats this subject with comparable breadth and depth”.  (Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, November 2004)