Cavitation/bubble-driven modification of standing-wave fields in HCT lumens

Investigate how cavitation clouds and residual bubbles modify the constructive-interference standing-wave pressure distribution within the lumen of a radially polarized hollow cylindrical transducer operated near its thickness resonance, including the roles of reflections, attenuation, and emissions from the cloud on subsequent pulse propagation and pressure field evolution.

Background

In the absence of bubbles, the HCT’s luminal pressure profile arises from superposed inward and outward cylindrical waves and reflections from the lumen surface, yielding standing-wave constructive interference with on-axis maxima. Once cavitation or residual bubbles are present, these structures likely perturb the field through reflection, scattering, attenuation, and emissions, potentially disrupting constructive interference and altering the spatial distribution of pressures.

Understanding this complex coupling is essential for rational exposure design, as it may influence where and how lesions initiate and expand within the clot under different pulsing conditions.