Week 2

Project: Virtual Emotion

            Notes on the reading: I found the application of ultrasound technology in the study of archeological artifacts extremely interesting. The ability to analyze the structural layout of priceless pieces of history without destroying them to find out what they’re made of is a huge breakthrough for the industry. The ‘non-destructive’ testing allows for specific guesswork as to when the piece was crafted and from what era, such as, “…The space for ceramic age classification was composed by 10 features (Table 3) and the cases were 230, for a total of 2300 data. The classes were defined as the ceramic archaeological periods, i.e., Bronze, Iberian, Roman and Middle age.” [2] The way that it is used to study ultrasonic velocity is very interesting. [3] Also, a recent study confirmed that, “…that the ultrasound propagation velocity increases with an increase in the density of the samples. It was shown that the ultrasound velocity in beryllium ceramics without specially added dopants is weakly dependent on the frequency in the 5–25 MHz range.” [4]

For week 2’s project, I want to do a, art project where ultrasound is used to study the evolution of children as they grow up, starting in their ultrasound. A very similar project has been done where a photographer studied the way a mother looked in profile, how her ultrasound pregnancy looked in profile, and then once the baby was born profile photos for the first two years of her life. [1]

            Already, the business has sprung up for ultrasonic photography. “Over the last decade, we have seen a shift in the use of ultrasound, from a medical diagnostic tool performed in hospital or medical clinic, to a means through which to obtain an image of the fetus. Private clinics have opened across Canada and the United States for the purpose of producing ultrasound images and video as a keepsake for the pregnant woman and her family. These images then continue their "public life" through sharing, both in person and online, through social networking websites and email. When produced for this purpose, the ultrasound image acts as "baby's first picture.” [5] I think this could be a very interesting study, since so the ability for ultrasound ahs progressed to where private individuals can get their hands on one and create an art piece and meaningful product for families.

Works Cited:

[1] Williams, Val, Nik Waplington, and Brigitte Lardinois. "A Secret Within a Secret: Affect, Identity and the Fetal Ultrasound." (2013): n. pag. EBSCOHost, 1 May 2013. Web. 28 May 2016.

[2] SALAZAR, Addisson, and Ramón MIRALLES. "Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing of Archaeological Ceramics." ECNDT (n.d.): n. pag. Universidad Politécnica De Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Web. 28 May 2016.

[3] Dharmendra Pandey and Shri Pandey (2010). Ultrasonics: A Technique of Material Characterization, Acoustic Waves, Don Dissanayake (Ed.), ISBN: 978-953-307-111-4, InTech, Available from: http://www.intechopen.com/books/acoustic-waves/ultrasonics-a-technique-of-material-characterization

[4] Kiiko, V. S., I. R. Shein, and M. A. Gorbunova. "Velocity and Absorption of Ultrasound in Beryllium Oxide Ceramic." Glass and Ceramics. EBSCOHost, 9 Nov. 2015. Web. 28 May 2016.

[5] Chisholm, Jennifer. "For Keeps-sake: The Fetal Image Industry and the Prenatal Commodity." EBSCOHost. International Journal of the Image, 2 Aug. 2013. Web. 28 May 2016.