Current technology used to diagnose hearing disorders is limited. This is mostly due to the fact that the auditory structures are very small and not easily accessible with existing imaging technologies. The objective of this dissertation was to investigate the potential of high-frequency ultrasound as a tool for exploring the anatomy of the auditory system. Three studies were conducted in order to demonstrate the feasibility of high-frequency ultrasound as a diagnostic technology for hearing disorders. In the first study, an in-house developed 50 MHz annular array-based ultrasound system was used to provide ex-vivo images of auditory structures in cadaveric temporal bones. It was shown that the spatial resolution was sufficient to visualize a high level of detail of the ossicular bones of the middle ear as well as intra-cochlear structures of the inner ear. In the second study, a 50 MHz 1.26? pitch phased array ultrasound transducer was designed for imaging intra-cochlear structures through the round window membrane. As this element pitch results in large grating lobe artifacts, novel transmit beamforming techniques were developed to suppress grating lobes resulting from this large-pitch array. Theoretical techniques using the impulse-response simulation method and experimental verification using high-frequency linear array ultrasound system (Vevo 2100, VisualSonics, Canada) showed that these techniques were able to suppress grating lobe levels up to 40 dB. In the third study, a needle mounted 45 MHz single-element ultrasound probe was fabricated in order to measure the vibrations of intra-cochlear structures on human cadavers. Basilar membrane velocimetry measurements were successfully performed using pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasound in the frequency range between 100 Hz-2 KHz. The measured velocity of the basilar membrane and the round window membrane showed that the middle ear resonance frequency near 1 KHz was present over multiple temporal bones. This is the first work that has explored the human auditory system with high resolution ultrasonic visualization and Doppler velocimetry.

No description available.

A presença de antibióticos no meio ambiente aquático tem causado crescente preocupação mundial. Além dos relatos de resistência de bactérias a antibióticos, essa classe de fármacos também pode causar efeitos tóxicos e atuar como perturbadores endócrinos em diversos organismos vivos e, possivelmente, em humanos. Dentre os antibióticos comumente usados destacam-se as sulfonamidas, detectadas em águas subterrâneas e superficiais. Os processos avançados de oxidação (POA) têm sido apontados como tecnologias eficientes para tratamento de poluentes recalcitrantes em diferentes matrizes aquosas. Dentre os POA, o processo foto-Fenton é uma alternativa para a degradação de compostos não biodegradáveis, incluindo fármacos. Uma vez que a principal limitação do processo é o intervalo de pH (2,5- 4,0), a reação pode ser vantajosamente conduzida empregando-se substâncias bio-orgânicas solúveis (BOS) como agentes complexantes de Fe3+ em condições ligeiramente ácidas (pH 5). Por sua vez, o emprego da energia ultrassônica tem sido menos estudado. Nesse contexto, o objetivo deste trabalho é estudar a degradação do antibiótico sulfadiazina (SDZ) por meio do processo foto-Fenton na presença de substâncias bio-orgânicas solúveis (UVvis/ Fe3+/H2O2/BOS) e do processo de cavitação por meio de ultrassom (US). Os resultados obtidos mostram que a sulfadiazina é eficientemente degradada por ultrassom de alta frequência. As maiores porcentagens e taxas de remoção são obtidas usando menor frequência de operação (580 kHz), maior potência dissipada e em pH ligeiramente ácido (melhor condição: pH 5,5). Além disso, a reação de Fenton, combinada com o tratamento US, melhorou notavelmente a degradação da SDZ, particularmente quando quantidades extras de H2O2 foram adicionadas ao sistema. Por sua vez, o uso de BOS como aditivos no processo foto-Fenton apresenta influência marcante na fotodegradação da SDZ em condições ligeiramente ácidas (pH 5). Os BOS podem estabilizar espécies de ferro em solução aquosa em pH próximos ao neutro, o que constitui uma propriedade de grande interesse. Sob as condições estudadas, o BOS CVT230 foi mais eficiente do que FORSUD, provavelmente devido às diferenças nos grupos funcionais presentes na composição destas substâncias. Finalmente, foram calculados os indicadores de consumo de energia elétrica por ordem de grandeza (EEO) para o processo de ultrassom (1572 kW h m-3 ordem-1) e área do coletor por ordem de grandeza (ACO) para o processo foto-Fenton (8,07 m2 m-3 ordem-1). / The potential impacts of antibiotic residues in the environment have become an emerging concern during recent years due to their relation with the development of resistant bacteria, and in some cases to their ability to cause toxic and endocrine disrupting effects in humans and other living organisms. Highlighted among the commonly used antibiotics are the sulfonamides, detected in groundwater and surface water. Advanced oxidation processes (AOP) might constitute an important alternative to deal with pharmaceuticals degradation. Among them, the photo-Fenton process has been widely used. One of its major drawbacks is the highly acidic pH needed (2,5-4,0) to avoid the formation of photochemically inactive iron oxides and hydroxides. The ability of soluble bio-organic substances (SBO) to complex metal cations such as iron is useful for the development of photo-Fenton at mild acidic conditions (pH 5). In turn, the use of ultrasonic energy has been less studied. In this context, the aim of this work is to study the degradation of the antibiotic sulfadiazine (SDZ) by the photo-Fenton process in the presence of soluble bio-organic substances (UV-vis/Fe3+/H2O2/SBO) and by ultrasonic cavitation (US). The results confirm that SDZ is effectively degraded by highfrequency ultrasound. Higher SDZ percent removals and removal rates were observed for the lowest operating frequency (580 kHz), higher dissipated power, and in slightly acidic solution (pH 5.5). On the other hand, SDZ degradation is highly improved in the case of the US/ Fe(II)/H2O2 system. The use of the SBO as Fenton additives in turn has a remarkable influence in SDZ photodegradation at slightly acid conditions (pH 5). This could be ascertained to the complexation of iron by the SBO, hence maintained in the reaction medium as a photoactive species. Under the studied conditions, the BOS CVT230 was more efficient than FORSUD, probably due to differences in the functional groups present in the composition of these substances. Finally, the figures-of merit electrical energy per order (EEO) and collector area per order (ACO) were calculated for the ultrasound (1572 kW h m-3 ordem-1) and photo-Fenton (8,07 m2 m-3 ordem-1) processes respectively.

Elastography, which is based on applying pressure and estimating the resulting deformation, involves the forward problem to obtain the strain distributions and inverse problem to construct the elastic distributions consistent with the obtained strains on observation points. This thesis focuses on the former problem whose solution is used as an input to the latter problem. The aim is to provide the inverse problem community with accurate strain estimates of a coronary artery vessel wall. In doing so, a new ultrasonic image-based elastography approach is developed. Because the accuracy and quality of the estimated strain fields depend on the resolution level of the ultrasound image and to date best resolution levels obtained in the literature are not enough to clearly see all boundaries of the artery, one of the main goals is to acquire high-resolution coronary vessel wall ultrasound images at different pressures. For this purpose, first an experimental setup is designed to collect radio frequency (RF) signals, and then image formation algorithm is developed to obtain ultrasound images from the collected signals. To segment the noisy ultrasound images formed, a geodesic active contour-based segmentation algorithm with a novel stopping function that includes local phase of the image is developed. Then, region-based information is added to make the segmentation more robust to noise. Finally, elliptical deformable template is applied so that a priori information regarding the shape of the arteries could be taken into account, resulting in more stable and accurate results. The use of this template also implicitly provides boundary point correspondences from which high-resolution, size-independent, non-rigid and local strain fields of the coronary vessel wall are obtained.

A presença de antibióticos no meio ambiente aquático tem causado crescente preocupação mundial. Além dos relatos de resistência de bactérias a antibióticos, essa classe de fármacos também pode causar efeitos tóxicos e atuar como perturbadores endócrinos em diversos organismos vivos e, possivelmente, em humanos. Dentre os antibióticos comumente usados destacam-se as sulfonamidas, detectadas em águas subterrâneas e superficiais. Os processos avançados de oxidação (POA) têm sido apontados como tecnologias eficientes para tratamento de poluentes recalcitrantes em diferentes matrizes aquosas. Dentre os POA, o processo foto-Fenton é uma alternativa para a degradação de compostos não biodegradáveis, incluindo fármacos. Uma vez que a principal limitação do processo é o intervalo de pH (2,5- 4,0), a reação pode ser vantajosamente conduzida empregando-se substâncias bio-orgânicas solúveis (BOS) como agentes complexantes de Fe3+ em condições ligeiramente ácidas (pH 5). Por sua vez, o emprego da energia ultrassônica tem sido menos estudado. Nesse contexto, o objetivo deste trabalho é estudar a degradação do antibiótico sulfadiazina (SDZ) por meio do processo foto-Fenton na presença de substâncias bio-orgânicas solúveis (UVvis/ Fe3+/H2O2/BOS) e do processo de cavitação por meio de ultrassom (US). Os resultados obtidos mostram que a sulfadiazina é eficientemente degradada por ultrassom de alta frequência. As maiores porcentagens e taxas de remoção são obtidas usando menor frequência de operação (580 kHz), maior potência dissipada e em pH ligeiramente ácido (melhor condição: pH 5,5). Além disso, a reação de Fenton, combinada com o tratamento US, melhorou notavelmente a degradação da SDZ, particularmente quando quantidades extras de H2O2 foram adicionadas ao sistema. Por sua vez, o uso de BOS como aditivos no processo foto-Fenton apresenta influência marcante na fotodegradação da SDZ em condições ligeiramente ácidas (pH 5). Os BOS podem estabilizar espécies de ferro em solução aquosa em pH próximos ao neutro, o que constitui uma propriedade de grande interesse. Sob as condições estudadas, o BOS CVT230 foi mais eficiente do que FORSUD, provavelmente devido às diferenças nos grupos funcionais presentes na composição destas substâncias. Finalmente, foram calculados os indicadores de consumo de energia elétrica por ordem de grandeza (EEO) para o processo de ultrassom (1572 kW h m-3 ordem-1) e área do coletor por ordem de grandeza (ACO) para o processo foto-Fenton (8,07 m2 m-3 ordem-1). / The potential impacts of antibiotic residues in the environment have become an emerging concern during recent years due to their relation with the development of resistant bacteria, and in some cases to their ability to cause toxic and endocrine disrupting effects in humans and other living organisms. Highlighted among the commonly used antibiotics are the sulfonamides, detected in groundwater and surface water. Advanced oxidation processes (AOP) might constitute an important alternative to deal with pharmaceuticals degradation. Among them, the photo-Fenton process has been widely used. One of its major drawbacks is the highly acidic pH needed (2,5-4,0) to avoid the formation of photochemically inactive iron oxides and hydroxides. The ability of soluble bio-organic substances (SBO) to complex metal cations such as iron is useful for the development of photo-Fenton at mild acidic conditions (pH 5). In turn, the use of ultrasonic energy has been less studied. In this context, the aim of this work is to study the degradation of the antibiotic sulfadiazine (SDZ) by the photo-Fenton process in the presence of soluble bio-organic substances (UV-vis/Fe3+/H2O2/SBO) and by ultrasonic cavitation (US). The results confirm that SDZ is effectively degraded by highfrequency ultrasound. Higher SDZ percent removals and removal rates were observed for the lowest operating frequency (580 kHz), higher dissipated power, and in slightly acidic solution (pH 5.5). On the other hand, SDZ degradation is highly improved in the case of the US/ Fe(II)/H2O2 system. The use of the SBO as Fenton additives in turn has a remarkable influence in SDZ photodegradation at slightly acid conditions (pH 5). This could be ascertained to the complexation of iron by the SBO, hence maintained in the reaction medium as a photoactive species. Under the studied conditions, the BOS CVT230 was more efficient than FORSUD, probably due to differences in the functional groups present in the composition of these substances. Finally, the figures-of merit electrical energy per order (EEO) and collector area per order (ACO) were calculated for the ultrasound (1572 kW h m-3 ordem-1) and photo-Fenton (8,07 m2 m-3 ordem-1) processes respectively.