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The feasibility of using ultrasound to modulate fluorescence in a turbid medium is still in debate due to the difficulty of detecting the modulated signal. We have demonstrated a system that could detect the weak signals of ultrasound-modulated fluorescence (UMF) by using a broadband lock-in amplifier and microbubbles as enhancement agents. By detecting the microbubble-enhanced UMF signal, a sub-millimeter fluorescent tube submerged in a turbid medium with a depth of 2 cm has been clearly observed with an ultrasonic spatial resolution. The modulation efficiency was significantly improved by using microbubbles, and was found to linearly increase with the drive voltage applied to the ultrasound transducer and the fluorophore concentration within the range adopted in this study. Possible modulation mechanisms are discussed.

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