Damage in brain tissue due to single bubble cavitation shock

Abstract

A novel experimental technique was developed to visualize and control single bubble cavitation initiation, growth, and its collapse. The influence of this process on a nearby tissue surrogate was investigated and then extended to a rat brain tissue. The technique utilized a modified polymer Hopkinson pressure bar system which transmits a simulated blast pressure wave with over and under pressure components to a fluid-filled test chamber implanted with a seed gas bubble. Growth and collapse of this bubble was visually recorded with a high speed camera. Using Raleigh-Plessat equation, bubble collapse pressures 29-125 times that of peak blast overpressure are predicted to be the source of localized shock waves. Finally, the value of this experimental platform to investigate the single bubble cavitation-induced fluid jet impact on a rat brain tissue and the associated damage evolution is illustrated.