Modeling of the dynamics of microbubble contrast agents in ultrasonic medicine: Survey

The survey is devoted to a new field of bubble dynamics that studies the behavior of ultrasound contrast agents. This name denotes man-made encapsulated microbubbles applied in diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasonic medicine to enhance the quality of ultrasonic images and to deliver drugs to target sites in the human body. The survey analyzes theoretical models that are currently applied for the description of the bubble shell, the interaction of bubbles with blood vessel walls, and the acoustical action of bubbles on the cell membrane.