Acoustic Properties of Normal Human Orbit Tissues

Special equipment, suitable for small tissue samples, has been developed for measurement of sound velocity. Specific gravity and sound velocity were determined from muscle tissue (external eye muscles), orbital fat and optic nerve tissue; high measurement accuracy was achieved. The sound attenuation and frequency filtering effects of these tissues were measured from a rather high number of samples, using an apparatus for diagnostic ultrasonography together with a collection of 10 transducers (frequencies 5.9 to 13.9 MHz). The results can contribute to ultrasonic examinations of the orbit as criteria for diagnostic differentiations. Additionally, they elucidate the practical importance of the frequency spectrum of the transducer probes, which found little attention in the past.