Temperature difference effect of biological tissues induced by low-intensity unfocused ultrasound

Abstract Low-intensity unfocused ultrasound (LIUU) is proposed for producing a temperature difference (TD) effect in biological tissues. A finite-element simulation model has been established to validate the method’s rationality, and its effectiveness in practical applications is further discussed through phantom experiments. Experimental results indicate that LIUU under suitable conditions can result in discrepancy of temperature increases in biological tissues with complex compositions. For photoacoustic imaging, the method leverages differences in acoustic absorption coefficients of biological tissues and extracts the TD as an imaging contrast, offering the potential to enhance tissue discrimination in conventional photoacoustic imaging with low light absorption coefficients.