Creating 3D Objects with Sound

Creating 3D objects with sound

Creating 3D objects with sound:    From  MaxPlanck

FEBRUARY 09, 2023

Scientists from the Micro, Nano and Molecular Systems Lab at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research and the Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials at Heidelberg University have created a new technology to assemble matter in 3D. Their concept uses multiple acoustic holograms to generate pressure fields with which solid particles, gel beads and even biological cells can be printed. These results pave the way for novel 3D cell culture techniques with applications in biomedical engineering. The results of the study were published in the journal Science Advances on February 08.

The use of sound waves to create a pressure field to print particles.

Kai Melde, MPI for Medical Research, Heidelberg University

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing enables the fabrication of complex parts from functional or biological materials. Conventional 3D printing can be a slow process, where objects are constructed one line or one layer at a time. Researchers in Heidelberg and Tübingen now demonstrate how to form a 3D object from smaller building blocks in just a single step.

“We were able to assemble microparticles into a three-dimensional object within a single shot using shaped ultrasound”, says Kai Melde, postdoc in the group and first author of the study. “This can be very useful for bioprinting. The cells used there are particularly sensitive to the environment during the process”, adds Peer Fischer, Professor at Heidelberg University.

Sound waves exert forces on matter – a fact that is known to any concert goer who experiences the pressure waves from a loudspeaker. Using high-frequency ultrasound, which is inaudible to the human ear, the wavelengths can be pushed below a millimeter into the microscopic realm, which is used by the researcher to manipulate very small building blocks, like biological cells.

In their previous studies Peer Fischer and colleagues showed how to form ultrasound using acoustic holograms – 3D-printed plates, which are made to encode a specific sound field. Those sound fields, they demonstrated, can be used to assemble materials into two-dimensional patterns. Based on this the scientists devised a fabrication concept.  ... '

https://www.mr.mpg.de/14580718/3dprintingwithsound

Wearable Sensor Provides Cardiac Imaging on the Go

I have a similar implanted device, but without the imaging and other smarts detailed here.  

Wearable Sensor Provides Cardiac Imaging on the Go

By UC San Diego Today, February 3, 2023

The unique design of the sensor makes it ideal for bodies in motion.

The wearable uses ultrasound to continuously capture images of the four chambers of the heart at different angles, and analyze a clinically relevant subset of the images in real time using custom-built AI technology.

A team led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) has developed a portable ultrasound device that uses custom algorithms to measure how much blood is being pumped by the heart.

The postage-stamp-sized patch captures images of the heart at different angles using ultrasound.

The technology performs real-time analysis of a subset of the images, which have high spatial resolution, temporal resolution, and contrast.

UC San Diego's Ruixiang Qi said the device provides "accurate and continuous waveforms of key cardiac indices in different physical states, including static and after exercise, which has never been achieved before."

From UC San Diego Today   View Full Article  

Ultrasound on Smartphones and Tablets

More sensor developments we need to watch.   Directly how practical and accurate remains to be seen.  " ... Qualcomm, in the fourth quarter of 2012, acquired the assets of EPOS, a developer of digital ultrasound technology. Qualcomm plans to incorporate the technology into chips that would go into not only mobile devices but also wearable electronics. Ultrasound could facilitate the use of a stylus as an input device and gesture recognition for smartphones and tablet computers, according to this article ... "