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Article

Experimental Validation of Time-Explicit Ultrasound Propagation Models with Sound Diffusivity or Viscous Attenuation in Biological Tissues Using COMSOL Multiphysics

1
Center for Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems (CMEMS), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
2
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI 48067, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Bioengineering 2025, 12(9), 946; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12090946 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 25 July 2025 / Revised: 26 August 2025 / Accepted: 28 August 2025 / Published: 31 August 2025

Abstract

Ultrasonic wave attenuation in biological tissues arises from complex interactions between mechanical, structural, and fluidic properties, making it essential to identify dominant mechanisms for accurate simulation and device design. This work introduces a novel integration of experimentally measured tissue parameters into time-explicit nonlinear acoustic wave simulations, in which the equations are directly solved in the time domain using an explicit solver. This approach captures the full transient waveform without relying on frequency-domain simplifications, offering a more realistic representation of ultrasound propagation in heterogeneous media. The study estimates both sound diffusivity and viscous damping parameters (dynamic and bulk viscosity) for a broad range of ex vivo tissues (skin, adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, trabecular/cortical bone, liver, myocardium, kidney, tendon, ligament, cartilage, and gray/white brain matter). Four regression models (power law, linear, exponential, logarithmic) were applied to characterize their frequency dependence between 0.5 and 5 MHz. Results show that attenuation is more strongly driven by bulk viscosity than dynamic viscosity, particularly in fluid-rich tissues such as liver and myocardium, where compressional damping dominates. The power-law model consistently provided the best fit for all attenuation metrics, revealing a scale-invariant frequency relationship. Tissues such as cartilage and brain showed weaker viscous responses, suggesting the need for alternative modeling approaches. These findings not only advance fundamental understanding of attenuation mechanisms but also provide validated parameters and modeling strategies to improve predictive accuracy in therapeutic ultrasound planning and the design of non-invasive, tissue-specific acoustic devices.
Keywords: biomedical ultrasound; sound diffusivity; frequency-dependent diffusivity; nonlinear acoustics; biological tissue acoustic modelling; COMSOL Multiphysics; nonlinearity parameter B/A; anisotropic tissue properties; viscous attenuation biomedical ultrasound; sound diffusivity; frequency-dependent diffusivity; nonlinear acoustics; biological tissue acoustic modelling; COMSOL Multiphysics; nonlinearity parameter B/A; anisotropic tissue properties; viscous attenuation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Fernandes, N.A.T.C.; Sharma, S.; Arieira, A.; Hinckel, B.; Silva, F.; Leal, A.; Carvalho, Ó. Experimental Validation of Time-Explicit Ultrasound Propagation Models with Sound Diffusivity or Viscous Attenuation in Biological Tissues Using COMSOL Multiphysics. Bioengineering 2025, 12, 946. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12090946

AMA Style

Fernandes NATC, Sharma S, Arieira A, Hinckel B, Silva F, Leal A, Carvalho Ó. Experimental Validation of Time-Explicit Ultrasound Propagation Models with Sound Diffusivity or Viscous Attenuation in Biological Tissues Using COMSOL Multiphysics. Bioengineering. 2025; 12(9):946. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12090946

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fernandes, Nuno A. T. C., Shivam Sharma, Ana Arieira, Betina Hinckel, Filipe Silva, Ana Leal, and Óscar Carvalho. 2025. "Experimental Validation of Time-Explicit Ultrasound Propagation Models with Sound Diffusivity or Viscous Attenuation in Biological Tissues Using COMSOL Multiphysics" Bioengineering 12, no. 9: 946. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12090946

APA Style

Fernandes, N. A. T. C., Sharma, S., Arieira, A., Hinckel, B., Silva, F., Leal, A., & Carvalho, Ó. (2025). Experimental Validation of Time-Explicit Ultrasound Propagation Models with Sound Diffusivity or Viscous Attenuation in Biological Tissues Using COMSOL Multiphysics. Bioengineering, 12(9), 946. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12090946

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