The autumn semester of 2018 was remembered for the busy schedule of international conferences on acoustics and therapeutic ultrasound. Three major conferences were organized in a two-week period in late October - early November: the International Ultrasound Symposium (IUS, October 22-25, Kobe, Japan), the 6th International Symposium on Focused Ultrasound (FUSF, October 21-25, Reston Virginia, USA), and the 176th Session of the Acoustic Society of America, combined with the Acoustics Week in Canada (November 5-9, Victoria, Canada). The results of the Laboratory were represented at all of the listed conferences, in total, 17 oral presentations were presented co-authored with LIMU staff.

LIMU delegates to the IUS Symposium (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, International Ultrasonics Symposium) in Japan were P.V. Yuldashev and P.B. Rosnitsky. Petr demonstrated the software packege “HIFU beam” developed by the LIMU team for simulating the nonlinear focusing of axially symmetric acoustic beams. The software package has been patented and will be made freely available for academic and research use. Pavel presented a new design of multi-element arrays with the maximum density of filling elements for irradiating brain through an intact skull.

The participants of the 6th International Symposium on Focused Ultrasound, organized by the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, were MM. Karzova and V.A. Khokhlova. M.M. Karzova reported on comparing shock-wave fields of the therapeutic arrays of the HIFU Sonalleve V1 and V2 clinical systems. V.A. Khokhlova presented experimental results on the mechanical disintegration of a human autopsy prostate tissue by focused ultrasound treatment termed boiling histotripsy. Also at the symposium were presented the capabilities of the software package "HIFU beam". Video recordings of M.M. Karzova and V.A. Khokhlova are posted in the section "Lectures" of the site.

The traditional Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America this year was combined with the Week of Acoustics in Canada and was held in Victoria. Laboratory LIMU was represented by four scientists: M.M. Karzova, S.A. Tsysar, V.A. Khokhlova, and O.A. Sapozhnikov. M.M. Karzova made an invited talk on the use of optical methods to measure the profiles of shock waves when they are irregularly reflected from rough surfaces, and also presented results on the precise measurement of acoustic radiation force of the ultrasound beam. S.A. Tsysar reported on the development of the physical and technical principles of the waveguide ultrasonic visualization of objects in aggressive liquids. The report of V.A. Khokhlova was dedicated to the presentation of the “HIFU beam” software package. O.A. Sapozhnikov reported on the most advantageous configurations of the arrangement of the elements of therapeutic arrays.