Review of Advanced Acoustical Imaging Techniques for Nondestructive Evaluation of Art Objects

Proper preventative diagnosis of different art objects, including wooden, bronze and marble sculptures, frescoes, and paintings (on canvas, wood, metal, and glass), is very important for conservation purposes. Various advanced ultrasonic imaging methods for analysis and assessment of art objects can bring about drastic changes in the regular evaluation and inventory carried out by museums and can bring advanced, powerful, and new techniques for objective assessment of physical conditions of museum resplendence. Using these methods, it will be possible to plan ad hoc repair works on art objects, and, as a result, we will preserve our heritage. The goal of this review is to introduce recent advances in acoustical imaging and quantitative acoustical imaging for the evaluation of art objects. Physical principles as well as experimental fundamentals for quantitative characterization of the contrast response in the acoustic imaging, together with the recent results of technical developments in this field, are discussed. Based on the most successful research results, examples of different applications are provided.