Virtual ultrasound machine operating in a GHz to MHz frequency range for particle-based biomedical simulations

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel particle-based simulation platform for ultrasound wave interactions in biomedical applications, capable of modeling high-frequency acoustic phenomena with improved stability and efficiency.

Contribution

It introduces a new smoothed dissipative particle dynamics method with an implicit pressure solver and stabilization, enabling accurate GHz-MHz ultrasound simulations at microscale.

Findings

Successfully modeled acoustophoresis of microbubbles

Demonstrated stability and efficiency in high-frequency simulations

Established a general platform for wave-matter interaction studies

Abstract

Ultrasound-matter interactions underpin numerous biomedical and soft-matter applications, yet simulating these phenomena is challenging due to the large separation of viscous and sonic time scales. Continuum methods capture large-scale wave propagation but cannot resolve microscale interactions, while particle-based approaches offer molecular resolution but struggle with efficiency and stability at larger scales. We introduce a particle-based virtual ultrasound machine that uses a novel smoothed dissipative particle dynamics variant with an implicit pressure solver and a negative-pressure stabilization scheme, required to mimic acoustic propagation across MHz-GHz frequencies. We demonstrate its capabilities by modeling the acoustophoresis of encapsulated microbubbles, a key mechanism in ultrasound-mediated drug delivery. Beyond this application, the approach establishes a generalizable platform for simulating wave-matter interactions in soft and biological materials, opening new directions for computational studies of acoustics-driven phenomena in science and engineering.