Figure 2.

Prediction of membrane deflection due to ultrasound. Ultrasound results in a) membrane deflection that triggers a transmembrane electrical response. The cell membrane bilayer stretches, increasing its area, and the outer leaflet of the bilayer will likely deflect more than the inner leaflet due to the presence of cytoskeletal components such as actin and microtubules that anchor the inner leaflet. Two of the factors that affect membrane displacement are surface tension of the lipid membrane and the length under consideration. The model b) predicts displacements between 100–400 nm for dimensions that correspond to the size of a cell (5–20 μm) and is within the limits observed using the DHM. The response is c) dynamic, with snapshots of the predicted deflection at different times (in ms) across a 10 μm wide membrane section that is anchored at the ends. The maximum deflection occurs when the stimulus is first provided and there is a balance between viscous dissipation and conservative effects of inertia and surface tension (see “Sustaining Oscillations on the Membrane” in Experimental Section and Section 2.2) which lead to sustained wavemodes on the membrane at the millisecond timescale (observed response). A low‐pass temporal filter of the membrane's center displacement at 5 μm indicates d) an oscillatory deflection over the stimulus duration of 5 ms.