All Wound Up: A Clearer Look at Electric Guitar Pickups #ASA186

Understanding the physical phenomenon at the heart of the electric guitar.

Media Contact:
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

OTTAWA, Ontario, May 15, 2024 – The electric guitar has been a core element of popular music for much of the past century. Pickups are the components that turn vibrations from the strings into electricity for sound and can be seen as the “heart” of the instrument. Electric guitarists have long known that the magnetic force from pickups affects the quality of their sound and how smoothly the sound transitions, known as timbre.

Takuto Yudasaka, visiting scholar at McGill University and researcher at Yamaha, will present their work on the physics behind electric guitar pickups Wednesday, May 15, at 10:30 a.m. EDT as part of a joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the Canadian Acoustical Association, running May 13-17 at the Shaw Centre located in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Pickups can be seen as the “heart” of the electric guitar, turning vibrations from the strings into electricity for sound. Image credit: Yamaha Corporation of America

“In electric guitars, the vibration of a magnetized string generates an electric current in the pickup coil,” said Yudasaka. “This current is very weak, but by winding the coil thousands of times, more signal can be detected.”

The details of how the pickup coil is wound has a significant impact on the resulting sound of the instrument. Winding the coil more will increase the output volume, but a coil wound too much can begin to lose its clarity. A minuscule winding of the coils, even as small as a hundredth of a millimeter, can make a noticeable sound change to a trained ear.

Furthermore, variables such as the type and thickness of the wire, the winding pattern, the shape and size of the pickup, and even the type of magnets used can all influence the guitar’s sound. While the average listener may not pick up on it, electric guitarists have both noticed and been intrigued by these physical phenomena.

With such a range of choices, finding the perfect sound can be a challenge, one Yudasaka and his colleagues hope to address.

“We were able to understand how the magnetic force of pickups affects the sound of electric guitars and how we can simulate it,” said Yudasaka. “This simulation has the potential to not only reduce design time but also to enable the development of electric guitars with new timbres.”

This understanding allows guitarists to make customary pickup selections and adjustments purposefully, removing most of the guesswork involved.

Yudasaka along with collaborators at Yamaha and McGill University will continue their research on how pickups affect timbre through future simulations.

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
Main Meeting Website: https://acousticalsociety.org/ottawa/
Technical Program: https://eppro02.ativ.me/src/EventPilot/php/express/web/planner.php?id=ASASPRING24

ASA PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Press Room will be updated with newsworthy stories and the press conference schedule at https://acoustics.org/asa-press-room/.

LAY LANGUAGE PAPERS
ASA will also share dozens of lay language papers about topics covered at the conference. Lay language papers are summaries (300-500 words) of presentations written by scientists for a general audience. They will be accompanied by photos, audio, and video. Learn more at https://acoustics.org/lay-language-papers/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
ASA will grant free registration to credentialed and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend the in-person meeting or virtual press conferences, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, AIP staff can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

ABOUT THE CANADIAN ACOUSTICAL ASSOCIATION/ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE D’ACOUSTIQUE

fosters communication among people working in all areas of acoustics in Canada
promotes the growth and practical application of knowledge in acoustics
encourages education, research, protection of the environment, and employment in acoustics
is an umbrella organization through which general issues in education, employment and research can be addressed at a national and multidisciplinary level

The CAA is a member society of the International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (I-INCE) and the International Commission for Acoustics (ICA), and is an affiliate society of the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV). Visit https://caa-aca.ca/.

Analyzing Androgynous Characteristics in an Emperor Penguin Courtship Call #ASA186

A SeaWorld San Diego penguin with an unconventional call inspires researchers to change how they study penguins.

Media Contact:
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

OTTAWA, Ontario, May 15, 2024 – An emperor penguin’s sex determines the nature of their courtship call – male vocalizations are composed of long, slow bursts with lower frequency tones than the female version. But calls of SeaWorld San Diego male penguin E-79 caught the attention of researchers by defying this binary. Also unusual was this penguin’s male companion, E-81. The pair “kept company” and sometimes exhibited ritual courtship displays.

Researchers from Applied Ocean Sciences, the Marine Technology Society, Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute, and SeaWorld San Diego investigated the courtship calls of E-79 and E-81. Kerri Seger will present their work Wednesday, May 15, at 10:15 a.m. EDT Time as part of a joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the Canadian Acoustical Association, running May 13-17 at the Shaw Centre located in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Emperor E-79 shown at the end of a display sequence after calling. When the birds call, their bills are facing generally downward and only slightly opened. The sound is radiated downward from the bill and to a lesser extent outward from the breast. Image credit: Linda M. Henry, SeaWorld San Diego.

The emperor penguin courtship display includes strutting, bowing, emitting the distinctive call, and swinging the head. This courtship display is also exhibited in other social contexts, especially around chicks and juvenile penguins.

“The sound isn’t melodious by comparison with songbird calls – it has been likened to a malfunctioning starter motor,” said bioacoustician Ann Bowles. “Our interest was in the timing of the calls, which are composed of a series of noisy bursts. A lot of individual information is encoded in the timing of these bursts.”

Unexpected vocalizations like E-79’s could indicate a developmental or health issue or genetic anomaly. However, the team couldn’t address questions about the bird’s condition without taking a very basic step – they had to quantify the range of variability in “normal” calls of other emperor penguins and compare them to E-79’s calls in detail. Not only did they need to record the birds in their below-freezing enclosure, but they also had to refine the usual technique for analyzing the bursts.

“We found that if we looked at the bursts overall, they were structured mainly like the male-type calls, but they contained little initial amplitude peaks in front of many bursts and a series of very short peaks in one of the long central bursts that would not have been typical of adults of either sex,” Seger said.

The team hypothesizes that the feminine or juvenile qualities of E-79’s bursts could partially explain E-81’s interest.

Refining the technique to study penguin calls has important applications beyond E-79.

“Seabird calls haven’t received anything like the attention that songbirds get, partly because they’re difficult to analyze,” said Seger. “We’re hoping new approaches like the one we’re working on will help. These calls can be indicators of developmental differences, health, reproductive state, or genetic makeup. Emperors are now considered to be at risk because of changing ice conditions in the Antarctic. Tools for assessing their condition or reproductive state remotely could be very helpful for assessing large numbers safely.”

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
Main Meeting Website: https://acousticalsociety.org/ottawa/
Technical Program: https://eppro02.ativ.me/src/EventPilot/php/express/web/planner.php?id=ASASPRING24

ASA PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Press Room will be updated with newsworthy stories and the press conference schedule at https://acoustics.org/asa-press-room/.

LAY LANGUAGE PAPERS
ASA will also share dozens of lay language papers about topics covered at the conference. Lay language papers are summaries (300-500 words) of presentations written by scientists for a general audience. They will be accompanied by photos, audio, and video. Learn more at https://acoustics.org/lay-language-papers/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
ASA will grant free registration to credentialed and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend the in-person meeting or virtual press conferences, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, AIP staff can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

ABOUT THE CANADIAN ACOUSTICAL ASSOCIATION/ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE D’ACOUSTIQUE

fosters communication among people working in all areas of acoustics in Canada
promotes the growth and practical application of knowledge in acoustics
encourages education, research, protection of the environment, and employment in acoustics
is an umbrella organization through which general issues in education, employment and research can be addressed at a national and multidisciplinary level

The CAA is a member society of the International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (I-INCE) and the International Commission for Acoustics (ICA), and is an affiliate society of the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV). Visit https://caa-aca.ca/.

Making Every Hair Appointment a Sound Experience #ASA186

Reducing the noise levels of hair salons can create a more relaxing experience and protect hearing all at once.

Media Contact:
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

OTTAWA, Ontario, May 14, 2024 – Walking out of a hair salon can have customers feeling brand new, but the noisy environment may have negative effects at the cost of a new “do.” At Image Creators salon in Maryland, owner Silvia Campana along with her employees and customers noticed they had to work hard to understand each other’s words while in the salon, but they couldn’t put their finger on exactly why. In addition to difficulties understanding speech, Campana experienced increased ear pain and tinnitus after long-term exposure to high sound pressure levels while working at the salon. These challenges inspired some creative solutions.

Campana consulted with Donna Ellis at Lines by Nature LLC to enhance the acoustical landscape at the high-end beauty salon. Ellis experimented with noise reduction methods to contribute to the calming, luxurious environment desired by the clientele and employees. She will present her work Tuesday, May 14, at 3:00 p.m. EDT as part of a joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the Canadian Acoustical Association, running May 13-17 at the Shaw Centre located in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Seeking to create a calming, luxurious environment, salon owner Silvia Campana consulted with Donna Ellis at Lines by Nature LLC to enhance its acoustical landscape. Image credit: Virginia V. Ellis

“Many noisy environments can be fixed in reasonably fast, cost-effective ways to provide social environments where our hearing is protected, where we can relax, and where we can have meaningful conversations with our friends, business colleagues, and family,” said Ellis.

Ellis collaborated with Campana to improve the salon’s acoustics and reduce the noise levels for the customers and staff. The main noise sources came from long reverberation times, high background noise from the HVAC system, hair dryers, and multiple people talking.

The pair found great success by installing acoustically absorptive materials throughout the salon. Reducing noise levels noticeably improved the ability to converse easily. In addition, receptionists were able to actually answer the phones at the counter and staff reported reduced ear pain.

“After the acoustics were retrofit the customers sensed a difference,” said Ellis. “When asked what changed, salon staff point up and it clicks. Customers often share their gratitude and surprise at the difference good acoustics make on their salon experience.”

The safety upgrades created for the salon are transferable to other noisy locations. With healthy noise levels being the focus, Ellis has data to show how noise reduction can be implemented within interior spaces.

“By balancing the listening environment, our findings can be applied to other salons, restaurants, stores, and conference centers to name a few,” said Ellis. “The solutions would support clear verbal communication in enclosed spaces and protect the occupational safety of the employees and customers.”

Ellis collected positive feedback from the occupants and emphasized the importance for communities and industries to support healthy human function as a whole.

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
Main Meeting Website: https://acousticalsociety.org/ottawa/
Technical Program: https://eppro02.ativ.me/src/EventPilot/php/express/web/planner.php?id=ASASPRING24

ASA PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Press Room will be updated with newsworthy stories and the press conference schedule at https://acoustics.org/asa-press-room/.

LAY LANGUAGE PAPERS
ASA will also share dozens of lay language papers about topics covered at the conference. Lay language papers are summaries (300-500 words) of presentations written by scientists for a general audience. They will be accompanied by photos, audio, and video. Learn more at https://acoustics.org/lay-language-papers/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
ASA will grant free registration to credentialed and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend the in-person meeting or virtual press conferences, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, AIP staff can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

ABOUT THE CANADIAN ACOUSTICAL ASSOCIATION/ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE D’ACOUSTIQUE

fosters communication among people working in all areas of acoustics in Canada
promotes the growth and practical application of knowledge in acoustics
encourages education, research, protection of the environment, and employment in acoustics
is an umbrella organization through which general issues in education, employment and research can be addressed at a national and multidisciplinary level

The CAA is a member society of the International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (I-INCE) and the International Commission for Acoustics (ICA), and is an affiliate society of the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV). Visit https://caa-aca.ca/.

Courtship Through Flute Song in Indigenous Southern Plains Culture #ASA186

For some tribes, performing an original flute song is the first step toward marriage.

Media Contact:
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

OTTAWA, Ontario, May 14, 2024 – Every love story is unique, and in traditional Indigenous Southern Plains culture, it begins with an original ballad performed on the flute. In order to win a lover’s affection, and respect among the tribe, each pursuer must compose one good flute serenade.

“Warrior with flute” by Timothy Tate Nevaquaya.

Paula Conlon, a former music professor at the University of Oklahoma, has researched the history and cultural significance of the Indigenous flute since the 1980s. Conlon will present her work Tuesday, May 14, at 9:45 a.m. EDT as part of a joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the Canadian Acoustical Association, running May 13-17 at the Shaw Centre located in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Conlon’s deep dive into this tradition includes a focus on four aspects that make a flute song “good” music: characteristics of the musical elements within the song, features that epitomize quintessential flutes, the qualities of the individual flute player, and how the flute players serve in their respective communities as mentors and role models. She also found that a love worth pursuing inspires its own music.

“Traditionally, a flute player would not use the same love song to court multiple partners, similar to a love letter or love poem,” said Conlon.

To study this romantic art form, Conlon looked to the works of flutists who helped maintain the tradition.

“The findings are based on an analysis of historical recordings of Indigenous flute love songs and the related literature, and the flute songs of Kiowa flutist Belo Cozad and Comanche flutist Doc Tate Nevaquaya,” said Conlon.

The decline of this courting tradition followed the end of the Reservation Era in 1887. Cozad and Nevaquaya are recognized for the survival of the Plains’ flute tradition, and nearly a century after the Reservation Era, in the late 20th century the tradition experienced a resurgence.

Nevaquaya was a leader in the Indigenous flute revival. He learned how to construct the flutes, personalized playing techniques, and put a spotlight on the old repertoire. He notably developed two new composition styles — one for modern courtship and the other to expand on the creativity of the individual flutist. His solo flute album, released in 1979, is regarded as a bridge between the traditional culture and the style of up-and-coming flute players.

“In 2024, it is another generation of Indigenous flute players, including Nevaquaya’s sons, Timothy, Edmond, and Calvert, who are making their mark,” said Conlon.

During her two-decade-long tenure in Oklahoma, Conlon developed relationships with many of the Indigenous flute players in the area. Now living in her hometown of Ottawa, she plans to continue this investigation by conducting comparable research on Indigenous flute players in Canada.

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
Main Meeting Website: https://acousticalsociety.org/ottawa/
Technical Program: https://eppro02.ativ.me/src/EventPilot/php/express/web/planner.php?id=ASASPRING24

ASA PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Press Room will be updated with newsworthy stories and the press conference schedule at https://acoustics.org/asa-press-room/.

LAY LANGUAGE PAPERS
ASA will also share dozens of lay language papers about topics covered at the conference. Lay language papers are summaries (300-500 words) of presentations written by scientists for a general audience. They will be accompanied by photos, audio, and video. Learn more at https://acoustics.org/lay-language-papers/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
ASA will grant free registration to credentialed and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend the in-person meeting or virtual press conferences, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, AIP staff can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

ABOUT THE CANADIAN ACOUSTICAL ASSOCIATION/ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE D’ACOUSTIQUE

fosters communication among people working in all areas of acoustics in Canada
promotes the growth and practical application of knowledge in acoustics
encourages education, research, protection of the environment, and employment in acoustics
is an umbrella organization through which general issues in education, employment and research can be addressed at a national and multidisciplinary level

The CAA is a member society of the International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (I-INCE) and the International Commission for Acoustics (ICA), and is an affiliate society of the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV). Visit https://caa-aca.ca/.

Catch and Release Can Give Sea Turtles the Bends #ASA186

Veterinarians team up with fishers to evaluate the health of accidentally caught sea turtles.

Media Contact:
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

OTTAWA, Ontario, May 13, 2024 – Six out of seven sea turtle species are endangered, and humans are primarily responsible. Commercial fishing activities are the largest human-caused disturbance to sea turtles due to accidental capture.

Fishers are typically unaware if a sea turtle is caught in their net until its completely pulled out of the water. However, releasing sea turtles without veterinary evaluations can be harmful. When accidentally caught, the turtles’ normal diving processes are interrupted, which can cause abnormal gas in their organs, gas emboli, to form. Veterinarians around the globe are working to understand the possible consequences of this pathology and determine the best treatment for turtles depending on when they surface. Here, they used ultrasound imaging to get a closer look at sea turtles’ bodies in realtime, focusing on the heart, liver, and kidney.

A sea turtle getting an ultrasound at Oceanogràfic as part of a veterinary procedure. (Photo taken by Katherine Eltz during her visit there to learn more about how this type of data is acquired for veterinary purposes)

Katherine Eltz, a first-year doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, determined that there are ways to differentiate gas levels over time in sea turtles. Eltz, whose home laboratory focuses on ultrasound imaging for decompression sickness mitigation in humans, collaborated with veterinarians who measured gas emboli in turtles in real time on fishing boats. She will present her work Monday, May 13, at 4:00 p.m. EDT as part of a joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the Canadian Acoustical Association, running May 13-17 at the Shaw Centre located in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

“Veterinarians can examine whole-body MRI or X-ray scans and find specific bubbles in a variety of different organs,” said Eltz. “The benefit of ultrasound is that we can see bubbles flowing through vessels or stationary in tissues. The portability of ultrasound means that it can be brought onto fishing boats, which we took advantage of to collect half of the data used in this project.”

Her collaborators from the Oceanogràfic Foundation were the first to report decompression sickness in turtles. Eltz examined ultrasound data collected from sea turtles found off the coast of Brazil, Italy, and Spain, though this issue is found in sea turtles worldwide. The data collection from Eltz’s collaborators at Oceanogràfic comes from veterinarians who joined fishers off the coasts of these countries and imaged the turtles immediately to monitor their bubbles after surfacing.

Eltz’s results come from two experimental groups with different circumstances regarding time and gas severity. The brightness from the ultrasounds taken from the groups is a valuable quantitative metric to separate each ultrasound by grade. These findings can help veterinarians better treat sea turtles presenting with gas embolism. Ultrasound brightness could become a quantitative metric for veterinarians to determine which turtles need hyperbaric oxygen treatment and which can be released.

“The largest task still at hand is to work towards standardizing the acquisition of the ultrasound data collected for this project,” said Eltz. “Now, I can work with veterinarians to help adjust their methods, including improved image processing to standardize the data in post-processing.”

With a rich dataset from Oceanogràfic at her disposal, Eltz hopes to examine other possible factors that may be related to gas severity. These insights all help lead to better prediction of the outcomes for bycaught sea turtles.

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
Main Meeting Website: https://acousticalsociety.org/ottawa/
Technical Program: https://eppro02.ativ.me/src/EventPilot/php/express/web/planner.php?id=ASASPRING24

ASA PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Press Room will be updated with newsworthy stories and the press conference schedule at https://acoustics.org/asa-press-room/.

LAY LANGUAGE PAPERS
ASA will also share dozens of lay language papers about topics covered at the conference. Lay language papers are summaries (300-500 words) of presentations written by scientists for a general audience. They will be accompanied by photos, audio, and video. Learn more at https://acoustics.org/lay-language-papers/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
ASA will grant free registration to credentialed and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend the in-person meeting or virtual press conferences, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, AIP staff can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

ABOUT THE CANADIAN ACOUSTICAL ASSOCIATION/ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE D’ACOUSTIQUE

fosters communication among people working in all areas of acoustics in Canada
promotes the growth and practical application of knowledge in acoustics
encourages education, research, protection of the environment, and employment in acoustics
is an umbrella organization through which general issues in education, employment and research can be addressed at a national and multidisciplinary level

The CAA is a member society of the International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (I-INCE) and the International Commission for Acoustics (ICA), and is an affiliate society of the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV). Visit https://caa-aca.ca/.

Intense Ultrasound Extracts Genetic Info for Less Invasive Cancer Biopsies #ASA186

Upcoming technology can extract cancer biomarkers from cells to enable affordable, noninvasive, and regular cancer screening.

Media Contact:
AIP Media
301-209-3090
media@aip.org

OTTAWA, Ontario, May 13, 2024 – Ultrasound imaging offers a valuable and noninvasive way to find and monitor cancerous tumors. However, much of the most crucial information about a cancer, such as specific cell types and mutations, cannot be learned from imaging and requires invasive and damaging biopsies. One research group developed a way to employ ultrasound to extract this genetic information in a gentler way.

At the University of Alberta, a team led by Roger Zemp explored how intense ultrasound can release biological indicators of disease, or biomarkers, from cells. These biomarkers, like miRNA, mRNA, DNA, or other genetic mutations, can help identify different types of cancer and inform the subsequent therapy. Zemp will present this work Monday, May 13, at 8:30 a.m. EDT as part of a joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the Canadian Acoustical Association, running May 13-17 at the Shaw Centre located in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Ultrasound image of micro-histotripsy liberation of biomarkers in a tumor. Image Credit: Joy Wang and Pradyumna Kedarisetti.

“Ultrasound, at exposure levels higher than is used for imaging, can create tiny pores in cell membranes, which safely reseal,” Zemp said. “This process is known as sonoporation. The pores formed due to sonoporation were previously used to get drugs into cells and tissues. In our case, we care about releasing the contents of cells for diagnostics.”

The ultrasound releases biomarkers from the cells into the bloodstream, increasing their concentration to a level high enough for detection. Using this method, oncologists can detect cancer and monitor its progression or treatment without the need for painful biopsies. Instead, they can use blood samples, which are easier to procure and less expensive.

“Ultrasound can enhance the levels of these genetic and vesicle biomarkers in blood samples by over 100 times,” said Zemp. “We were able to detect panels of tumor-specific mutations, and now epigenetic mutations that were not otherwise detectable in blood samples.”

Not only was this approach successful at detecting biomarkers, but it also boasts a lower price compared to conventional testing.

“We’ve also found that we can conduct ultrasound-aided blood testing to look for circulating tumor cells in blood samples with single-cell sensitivity for the price of a COVID test,” said Zemp. “This is significantly cheaper than the current methods, which cost about $10,000 per test.”

The team also demonstrated the potential for applying intense ultrasound to liquefy small volumes of tissue for biomarker detection. The liquified tissue can be retrieved from blood samples or through fine-needle syringes, a much more comfortable option compared to the damaging core-needle alternative.

More accessible techniques to identify cancer will not only allow for earlier detection and treatment but will also allow medical practitioners to be nimble in their approach. They can establish if certain therapies are working without the risks and expenses often associated with repeated biopsies.

“We hope that our ultrasound technologies will benefit patients by providing clinicians a new kind of molecular readout of cells and tissues with minimal discomfort,” said Zemp.

———————– MORE MEETING INFORMATION ———————–
Main Meeting Website: https://acousticalsociety.org/ottawa/
Technical Program: https://eppro02.ativ.me/src/EventPilot/php/express/web/planner.php?id=ASASPRING24

ASA PRESS ROOM
In the coming weeks, ASA’s Press Room will be updated with newsworthy stories and the press conference schedule at https://acoustics.org/asa-press-room/.

LAY LANGUAGE PAPERS
ASA will also share dozens of lay language papers about topics covered at the conference. Lay language papers are summaries (300-500 words) of presentations written by scientists for a general audience. They will be accompanied by photos, audio, and video. Learn more at https://acoustics.org/lay-language-papers/.

PRESS REGISTRATION
ASA will grant free registration to credentialed and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend the in-person meeting or virtual press conferences, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, AIP staff can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Acoustical Society of America is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world’s leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

ABOUT THE CANADIAN ACOUSTICAL ASSOCIATION/ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE D’ACOUSTIQUE

fosters communication among people working in all areas of acoustics in Canada
promotes the growth and practical application of knowledge in acoustics
encourages education, research, protection of the environment, and employment in acoustics
is an umbrella organization through which general issues in education, employment and research can be addressed at a national and multidisciplinary level

The CAA is a member society of the International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (I-INCE) and the International Commission for Acoustics (ICA), and is an affiliate society of the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV). Visit https://caa-aca.ca/.