Introduction

The invention consists of a system allowing at the same time a highly controlled and repeatable ultrasound stimulation and an optical imaging of a sample, in vitro.

In the Marketing Annex the Figure represents the overall system architecture (a), cross-sectional view (b), cross-sectional view of the calibration procedure, performed through a hydrophone (c), detail of the acoustically-reflective/optically transparent element enabling ultrasound stimulation and real-time optical imaging of a sample, in vitro (d), detail of sample holder (e).

Technical features

Besides the well-known use of ultrasound in diagnostic, ultrasound as therapeutic tool emerged more recently. Thanks to its intrinsic non-invasiveness (no incisions and no ionizing radiation) and the possibility to localize the treatment with extreme precision (use of a focused beam), therapeutic ultrasound is rapidly gaining clinical acceptance for a wide range of pathologies. Indeed, ultrasound-based technologies are nowadays a hot topic in medicine- and surgery-oriented research, with several applications currently under exploration. However, a deep knowledge about specific mechanisms connected to ultrasound stimulation are missing. This invention enables to study in deep ultrasound stimulation-related phenomena occurring to materials and living cells, lately enabling an optimization of the stimulation process, in several domains.

Possible Applications

• Controlled ultrasound stimulation of biological samples for promoting tissue regeneration/healing;
• Controlled ultrasound stimulation of chemical substances and solutions for sonochemistry;
• Controlled ultrasound stimulation of complex materials, for triggering drug release or other desired phenomena.

Advantages

• Respect to traditional systems, this invention allows to optically monitor in real-time what happens to the sample, during ultrasound stimulation;
• Higher ability to deeply understand the physical phenomena occurring to the sample during ultrasound stimulation.