Temporal and spatial characteristics of nonlinear acoustic field generated by an extracorporeal shockwave therapy device: Modeling and measurements

Abstract

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ES WT) refers to the use of focused shock pulses to treat certain musculoskeletal disorders. Although the technology is used clinically, acoustic characteristics of ESWT fields and their relation to the bioeffects induced are not fully understood. In the present work the acoustic field of a clinical ESWT device (Duolith SD1) was characterized in water using a combined measurement and modeling approach. Simulation model was based on the nonlinear KZK equation; the boundary condition was based on the pressure waveforms measured in a plane 5 mm away from the therapy head. The model was used to simulate and to analyze pressure waveforms along the axis of the therapy head and 2D spatial distributions of peak pressures. The modeling results were found in a good agreement with experimental data. © 2013 Acoustical Society of America.