# BIOPHYSICAL BASES OF PULSED ULTRASOUND BIOEFFECTS

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · 1993 · $335,208

## Abstract

This application's long term objective is to determine the potential for
diagnostic ultrasound to induce biological effects in mammalian tissues. To
accomplish this objective, several approaches are proposed; 1) to determine
for extra utero human placentas the size and quantily of gas nuclei and the
ultrasound parameters (IM, frequency, prr) needed to activate the nuclei to
acoustic cavities; 2) to determine (a) the role of intercellular space and
gas in mediating acoustic cavitation in an in vitro multicellular tissue
system (multicell spheroids), to measure the force requisite for bubble
penetration of cells, (c) to determine whether acoustic cavitation occurs
intracellularly; 3) to verify certain phenomenological reports regarding
ultrasound-induced effects (sister chromatid exchanges, unscheduled DNA
systhesis, cell transformation, multigeneration cell deformation) in certain
in vitro systems and, if verified, to identify the physical mechanism of
action causing the effects(s); 4) to investigate the postulate that at
hyperthermic temperatures a non-cavitational, non-thermal ultrasound-induced
mechanism is operative; and 5) to determine the most effective pulsing
regimes (prr, frequency) for induction cavitation at ultrasound intensities
(Im) comparable to those emitted by clinical diagnostic units.

The results obtained should be  directly  relevant  to  assessments  of  the
potential  for  diagnostic  ultrasound to induce biological effects in human
tissue.  Because the proposed projects focus on  understanding  how  certain
effects  in  chemical,  in  vitro,  and  vivo mammalian systems are produced
(i.e., mechanisms) the results from  these  areas  may  be  extrapolated  to
broader question of health and safety from exposure to dignostic ultrasound.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3178018
- **Project number:** 5R01CA039230-19
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
- **SAM.gov UEI:** F27KDXZMF9Y8
- **Principal Investigator:** Morton Miller
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $335,208
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1985-09-01 → 1995-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3178018

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3178018, BIOPHYSICAL BASES OF PULSED ULTRASOUND BIOEFFECTS (5R01CA039230-19). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3178018. Licensed CC0.

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