Feasibility of thin catheter manipulation in the capillary blood vessel using acoustic radiation force

This paper is to demonstrate possibility that a thin catheter less than 0.5 mm diameter could be introduced in a thin blood vessel like the capillary by using acoustic radiation force. In the experiment, a 0.4 mm diameter tube likened to the thin catheter could be controlled and introduced to the aimed flow channel of 2 mm width Y-shape bifurcation. Value of the radiation force was estimated by two methods that are cantilever method and calculation method from acoustic pressure. As a result, it was estimated that the catheter was pushed by the force of several dozens of micro Newton.