Laboratory Equipment

Ultrasound Key to More Efficient Engines

A system that uses ultrasound technology to look inside car engines could lead to more efficient engines – and huge fuel savings for motorists.

Ultrasound scans have long been a fundamental tool in healthcare for looking inside the human body, but they have never before been put to use in testing the health of a modern combustion engine. In the Univ. of Sheffield’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rob Dwyer-Joyce, professor of lubrication engineering, has devised a method of using ultrasound to measure how efficiently an engine’s pistons are moving up and down inside their cylinders.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/12/ultrasound-key-more-efficient-engines

Sharper Ultrasound Tracks Disease Progression

Ultrasound images, known as sonograms, have become a familiar part of pregnancy, allowing expectant parents a view of their unborn child. But new research at MIT could improve the ability of untrained workers to perform basic ultrasound tests, while allowing trained workers to much more accurately track the development of medical conditions, such as the growth of a tumor or the buildup of plaque in arteries.

The improvements to this widely used technology could provide detailed information far beyond what is possible with existing systems, the researchers say. The work, led by Brian Anthony, co-director of MIT’s Medical Electronic Device Realization Center (MEDRC) and director of the Master of Engineering in Manufacturing Program, was recently presented at the International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging in Barcelona, Spain.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Sharper-Ultrasound-Tracks-Disease-Progression-061912.aspx

Ultrasound Finds Flaws in Ship Propellers

Ship propellers are as large as a single-family home – and manufacturing them is quite a challenge. During the casting process, pores and miniscule cracks can form that in the worst case may cause a blade to break. Now these massive components can be inspected for defects in a non-invasive manner, using a new kind of ultrasound process.

They can weigh up to 150 tons, and it’s not uncommon for them to measure nine meters or more in diameter: the ship propellers on huge tankers, container ships and cruise liners are invisible giants. Damage to these massive propellers could render a ship un-maneuverable – with unpredictable consequences for people and the environment. Many defects do not come from external influences, but instead originate in the production or repair process. For example, when the molded parts are being cast, any turbulence could lead to sand inclusions and pores. Left undetected, critical imperfections could lead to breakage of a blade.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Ultrasound-Finds-Flaws-in-Ship-Propellers-040312.aspx

Looking to Animals for Ultrasound Technology

Sonar and ultrasound, which use sound as a navigational device and to paint accurate pictures of an environment, are the basis of countless technologies, including medical ultrasound machines and submarine navigation systems. But when it comes to more accurate sonar and ultrasound, animals’ “biosonar” capabilities still have the human race beat.

But not for long. In a new project that studies bats, dolphins and mole rats, Prof. Nathan Intrator of Tel Aviv Univ.’s Blavatnik School of Computer Science, in collaboration with Brown Univ.’s Prof. Jim Simmons, is working to identify what gives biosonar the edge over human-made technologies. Using a unique method for measuring how the animals interpret the returning signals, Intrator has determined that the key to these animals’ success is superior, real-time data processing. “Animal ‘echolocations’ are done in fractions of milliseconds, at a resolution so high that a dolphin can see a tennis ball from approximately 260 feet away,” he says, noting that the animals are able to process several pieces of information simultaneously.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Animals-Could-Advance-Ultrasound-Technology-111511.aspx