This course relates to the phenomenon of ultrasound and its realisation and applications in fields such as biomedical engineering, electrical/electronic engineering and mechanical engineering. It relies on a sound grasp of many basic engineering concepts, adds some specialised concepts and illustrates the importance of integrated understanding.

One extended teaching block per week.

None

None

50% Written Exam

20% Video diary reporting the process of project video preparation

30% Project video on a defined, relevant topic

The aims of this course are to:

■ provide students with knowledge of the characteristics of ultrasound as a mechanical wave able to propagate in many different materials, as disparate as human tissue, engineering metals and semiconductors;

■ provide students with knowledge and skills to design simple examples of the key components in systems used to apply ultrasound, such as the ultrasonic transducer, the related electronic circuitry, and array implementations;

■ provide students with the skills to identify appropriate ultrasound system implementations for specific applications in imaging and sensing and in its use as a means to deliver energy remotely, with examples in medicine, engineering and physics.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ describe the nature of ultrasound as a mechanical wave phenomenon and how ultrasound waves are formed and propagate in different media;

■ relate the technologies needed to create ultrasound systems to those in other, analogous systems;

■ define the reasons for the importance of specific ultrasound parameters such as frequency, wavelength and intensity;

■ apply ultrasound technology to solve engineering problems in imaging and sensing and in remote delivery of energy for medical diagnosis and other uses.

Students must attend the degree examination and submit at least 75% by weight of the other components of the course's summative assessment.

Students must attend the timetabled demonstration sessions.