Acoustic Interferometry Has Potential For Diagnostics

Fast, low-cost medical diagnostic tools are being developed using swept-frequency acoustic interferometry technology from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N. Mex. Originally developed to characterize liquids, gases, mixtures, and emulsions within sealed containers, the technology is being adapted to diagnostic tasks such as monitoring intraocular pressure by licensee Interferometrics Inc., Austin. The technique uses high frequency sound to set up standing waves inside the object being studied. By varying the frequency, the result is a series of standing waves that produce spectrums that contain physical information -- for example sound speed and attenuation, fluid density and viscosity, and acoustic nonlinearity.