Multiplexed acoustic microscopy.

• Main Author: Kuhn, William Paul.
• Other Authors: Barrett, Harrison H.
• Language: en
• Published: The University of Arizona. 1995
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/187389

There is much biological evidence that mechanical forces play a significant role in controlling normal cell growth and proliferation. This evidence has motivated many researchers to use scanning acoustic microscopes to study the mechanical properties of cells. Multiplexing techniques are used in a variety of imaging systems. This dissertation presents the results of the application of multiplexing concepts to acoustic microscopy. The introduction to this dissertation reviews evidence for the biological role of mechanical forces and relevant acoustic imaging techniques. This is followed by an introduction to multiplexing techniques that leads to the conceptual design of a multiplexed acoustic microscope (MAM). The results from simulating and prototyping a small MAM are used to perform a simulation of a large MAM. Data from a large MAM is either impractical to process or requires assumptions that produce unacceptable results. The ultimate solution requires the design of a MAM having a small point spread function.