The spatial distribution of cavitation induced acoustic emission, sonoluminescence and cell lysis in the field of a shock wave lithotripter.

This study examines the spatial distribution of various properties attributed to the cavitation field generated by a shock wave lithotripter. These properties include acoustic emission and sonoluminescence, which result from violent bubble collapse, and the degree of cell lysis in vitro, which appears to be related to cavitation. The acoustic emission detected with a 1 MHz, 12 cm diameter focused hydrophone occurs in two distinct bursts. The immediate signal is emitted from a small region contained within the 4 MPa peak negative pressure contour. A second, delayed, burst is emitted from a region extending further along the beam axis. The delay between these two bursts has also been mapped, and the longest delay occurs at positions close to the regions of maximum peak negative pressure. Sonoluminescence from both single and multiple shocks occurs in a broader region than the acoustic emission but the measurement technique does not allow time resolution of the signal. Cell lysis occurs in a relatively small region that correlates closely with the immediate acoustic emission for a shock propagating in a gelatine solution.