Dynamics of bubbles and ultrasound: Diagnostic imaging to blood pressure monitoring and tissue engineering

Observations of ultrasound interacting with coated microbubbles has become an important biomedical tool for diagnostic imaging and therapeutics. This paper presents a perspective which highlights the underlying linear and nonlinear bubble dynamics. Mathematical modeling of contrast microbubbles, including an interfacial rheological model, and model building and improvement using attenuation and scattering experiments are presented. A method of noninvasive organ-level blood pressure monitoring is described. Microbubbles together with low-intensity pulsed ultrasound are also demonstrated to be an effective tool in tissue engineering.