Abstract
We investigate guided (Lamb) waves in a human cadaver skull through experiments and
computational simulations. Ultrasonic wedge transducers and scanning laser Doppler
vibrometry are used respectively to excite and measure Lamb waves propagating in the
cranial bone of a degassed skull. Measurements are performed over a section of the
parietal bone and temporal bone spanning the squamous suture. The experimental data
are analyzed for the identification of wave modes and the characterization of dispersion
properties. In the parietal bone, for instance, the A0 wave mode is excited between 200 and 600 kHz, and higher-order Lamb waves are excited
from 1 to 1.8 MHz. From the experimental dispersion curves and average thickness extracted
from the skull computed tomography scan, we estimate average isotropic material properties
that capture the essential dispersion characteristics using a semi-analytical finite-element
model. We also explore the leaky and non-leaky wave behavior of the degassed skull
with water loading in the cranial cavity. Successful excitation of leaky Lamb waves
is confirmed (for higher-order wave modes with phase velocity faster than the speed
of sound in water) from 500 kHz to 1.5 MHz, which may find applications in imaging
and therapeutics at the brain periphery or skull–brain interface (e.g., for metastases). The non-leaky A0 Lamb wave mode propagates between 200 and 600 kHz, with or without fluid loading,
for potential use in skull-related diagnostics and imaging (e.g., for sutures).
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 23, 2020
Accepted:
November 17,
2020
Received in revised form:
November 14,
2020
Received:
June 17,
2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. All rights reserved.
