Size-Dependent Ultrasonic Characterization of Cylindrical Surrogate Targets Using Through-Transmission Ultrasound
- 1Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Seongnam 13496, Republic of Korea;
- 2TFYHNN., Pohang 37660, Republic of Korea;
- 3Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, St. Vincent’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
Abstract
Background: Thrombus formation remains a major complication during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), potentially resulting in circuit failure and thromboembolic events. Although several techniques have been proposed for thrombus detection, the relationship between measured ultrasonic features and target size has not been systematically characterized. This study evaluated size-dependent ultrasonic signal changes using standardized cylindrical surrogate targets under controlled conditions. Methods: A through-transmission ultrasonic system incorporating paired point-focused transducers (5 and 10 MHz), a water chamber, an ultrasonic pulser/receiver, a digital storage oscilloscope, and a manual translation stage was constructed. Cylindrical targets made of acrylic, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and SUS304 stainless steel, with diameters ranging from 0.1 to 5.0 mm, were scanned at 0.5 mm intervals over a 30 mm range. Baseline-subtracted waveforms were used to calculate peak height, pulse area, and squared-amplitude sum. Results: Exploratory regression analyses demonstrated positive diameter-dependent associations for all evaluated features. Pulse area showed strong linear associations across the six material–frequency conditions (R² = 0.904–0.997), although no single feature consistently demonstrated the highest goodness of fit. Strong associations were observed at both frequencies; however, the different receiver gains precluded direct inference regarding relative frequency sensitivity. Under the 10 MHz condition, the 0.3 mm SUS304 wire target was the smallest tested surrogate target meeting the study-specific operational detection-index criterion (DI > 3). Conclusions: Through-transmission ultrasound demonstrated size-dependent changes in signals obtained from standardized cylindrical surrogate targets. Pulse area was identified as a practical candidate feature because of its consistently strong associations and computational simplicity, but neither statistical superiority nor a predictive sizing model was established. The 0.3 mm result applies to a high-acoustic-contrast SUS304 target under the specified experimental conditions and does not represent a biological thrombus detection limit.
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BibTeX
@article{rim2026sizedependent,
title = {{Size-Dependent Ultrasonic Characterization of Cylindrical Surrogate Targets Using Through-Transmission Ultrasound}},
author = {Gongmin Rim and Zhongsoo Lim and Kwanyong Hyun},
journal = {Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/bioengineering13101122},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13701521},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Size-Dependent Ultrasonic Characterization of Cylindrical Surrogate Targets Using Through-Transmission Ultrasound
AU - Gongmin Rim
AU - Zhongsoo Lim
AU - Kwanyong Hyun
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/bioengineering13101122
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13701521
AB - Background: Thrombus formation remains a major complication during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), potentially resulting in circuit failure and thromboembolic events. Although several techniques have been proposed for thrombus detection, the relationship between measured ultrasonic features and target size has not been systematically characterized. This study evaluated size-dependent ultrasonic signal changes using standardized cylindrical surrogate targets under controlled conditions. Methods: A through-transmission ultrasonic system incorporating paired point-focused transducers (5 and 10 MHz), a water chamber, an ultrasonic pulser/receiver, a digital storage oscilloscope, and a manual translation stage was constructed. Cylindrical targets made of acrylic, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and SUS304 stainless steel, with diameters ranging from 0.1 to 5.0 mm, were scanned at 0.5 mm intervals over a 30 mm range. Baseline-subtracted waveforms were used to calculate peak height, pulse area, and squared-amplitude sum. Results: Exploratory regression analyses demonstrated positive diameter-dependent associations for all evaluated features. Pulse area showed strong linear associations across the six material–frequency conditions (R² = 0.904–0.997), although no single feature consistently demonstrated the highest goodness of fit. Strong associations were observed at both frequencies; however, the different receiver gains precluded direct inference regarding relative frequency sensitivity. Under the 10 MHz condition, the 0.3 mm SUS304 wire target was the smallest tested surrogate target meeting the study-specific operational detection-index criterion (DI > 3). Conclusions: Through-transmission ultrasound demonstrated size-dependent changes in signals obtained from standardized cylindrical surrogate targets. Pulse area was identified as a practical candidate feature because of its consistently strong associations and computational simplicity, but neither statistical superiority nor a predictive sizing model was established. The 0.3 mm result applies to a high-acoustic-contrast SUS304 target under the specified experimental conditions and does not represent a biological thrombus detection limit.
SN - 2306-5354
ER -