Feasibility of non-contact ultrasound generation using implanted metallic surfaces as electromagnetic acoustic transducers

In this paper we investigate the feasibility of using an in-vivo metallic implant like a stent for generation of acoustic waves which can then be used for imaging areas inside or near the surface of the implant. The proposed method relies on time-varying eddy-current loops that are excited on the metallic surface of the stent using an external RF coil. In the presence of a constant magnetic field, the eddy-current loops and hence the metal surface experiences a Lorentzian force which then excite acoustic waves in the proximity of the implant´s surface. In this paper we have designed a phantom set up to characterize the acoustic wave generation process and we demonstrate that the acoustic waves can be measured, imaged and harvested remotely using a piezoelectric probe.