Ultrasound : an alternative solution for removing tattoos

The recent influx of tattoos has been accompanied by a rise in demand for tattoo removals. Due to the recent success of ultrasound as a noninvasive alternative for multiple medical therapies, the feasibility of ultrasound-mediated tattoo removals will be investigated in this thesis. During tattoo applications, dermal cells consume and store tattoo particles in vacuoles in the same manner fat cells store lipids. It is therefore assumed that tattooed cells adopt an "effective density" analogous to the way fat cells develop a lower density. Using this change in mechanical property, the hypothesis is that focused, high frequency ultrasound can target tattooed cells. These cells may be selectively disrupted based on differences in mechanical and acoustic properties between healthy and tattooed cells. As no previous studies have investigated the ultrasound effects or mechanical properties of particle-filled cells, a preliminary model of crudely simulated tattooed cells is designed treating each cell as a homogenous structure. Microspheres of various materials are used to represent and generate a range of density and elasticity that capture these effective properties.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Teng, Jennifer

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Roger D. Kamm.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/32961

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/32961