LAWS Webinar 2

Short Early Career Talk (10 Minutes)
Optically-guided Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation in Mice

Héctor Estrada
ETH Zürich

Main Talk (30 Minutes)
Acoustic Levitation Methods for Suspending and Manipulating Objects in Mid-Air

Marco A. B. Andrade
Institute of Physics of the University of São Paulo, Brazil

Q&A Sesssion (10 Minutes)
Moderator: Dr. Karen Volke-Sepúlveda

Short Early Career Talk

Optically-guided Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation in Mice
Transcranial ultrasound neuromodulation is a promising technique with the potential to help us treat and better understand the brain. Current methods of transcranial ultrasound delivery and functional brain imaging in humans cannot provide a detailed account of brain activity under ultrasonic stimulation. In order to know how ultrasound affects the neurons in a living brain, we combined the optical tools developed to image calcium dynamics in mice with precise ultrasound delivery (FLUS). Using a fluoro-thermal tag, we are able to visualize in real-time the position and relative intensity of the ultrasound focus. We hope the FLUS system and our methods can help clarify how ultrasound waves can be exploited in brain therapy and neuroscience.

Héctor Estrada

Héctor Estrada studied Acoustical Engineering in Chile and obtained his Ph.D. on physical acoustics from the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Spain, in 2011 investigating the ultrasound propagation through phononic plates. In 2012 he joined the Institute for Biological and Medical Imaging (IBMI), Helmholtz Zentrum München as a postdoctoral fellow developing hybrid optoacoustic-ultrasound neuroimaging system and studying the acoustic properties of the skull using lasers. He currently works at the University and ETH Zurich developing models and techniques for transcranial ultrasound and optoacoustics. His research interests include optoacoustic and ultrasound imaging, guided ultrasonic wave propagation in bone, and ultrasound neuromodulation.

Main Talk

Acoustic Levitation Methods for Suspending and Manipulating Objects in Mid-Air
Acoustic levitation uses the acoustic radiation force to counteract gravity and suspend objects in the air medium. In this talk, different acoustic levitation approaches will be presented, including the use of standing waves for levitating objects much smaller than the acoustic wavelength, the inverted near-field acoustic levitation method, far-field acoustic levitation method, and the use of single beams generated by arrays of low power transducers. We will also present potential applications, including the manipulation of fragile objects and the contactless manipulation of multiple liquid drops as a tool for liquid processing of small volumes of liquids.

Marco A. B. Andrade

Marco A. B. Andrade is a lecturer at the Institute of Physics of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and his main research interest is to develop new strategies to levitate and manipulate objects with sound. He received a bachelor’s degree in physics from the Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Brazil in 2004, and M.S. and D.Sc. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Polytechnic School, the University of São Paulo in 2006 and 2010, respectively.

Q&A Moderator

Dr. Karen Volke-Sepúlveda
Dr. Karen Volke-Sepúlveda got her Ph.D. in Optics in 2003 and she is currently an Associate Professor at the Institute of Physics of the National Autonomous Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). There she established the Optical Micromanipulation Laboratory in 2004, which nowadays has an active research group with two main researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and students of different levels. She lectures at the Faculty of Sciences and in the Physical Sciences Postgraduate Program at UNAM. Her main research topics include optical and acoustical trapping, topological and dynamical properties of structured wavefields, analogies among different wave systems, and nonlinear optical phenomena in colloidal media. Dr. Volke-Sepúlveda has been awarded several recognitions for her research, among them the European Optics Prize 2003 for a paper in which she is the first author.