Ultrasonic 3D Projector Expands Treatment Options

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 05 Nov 2020

Image: Letters of the alphabet generated using modulated sound pressure profiles (Photo courtesy of MPI-IS)

A new study shows how ultrasound technology can be used to generate dynamic sound profiles with high resolution and intensity, expanding therapeutic use.

Developed at the University of Stuttgart (Germany) and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS; Stuttgart, Germany), the spatial ultrasound modulator (SUM) is designed to flexibly temper 3D ultrasound fields, generating dynamic sound pressure profiles. SUM is based on a small complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chip, on which hydrogen bubbles are formed by 10,000 electrodes in a thin water film via electrolysis. Each electrode has an edge length of less than a tenth of a millimeter, and can be controlled individually.

If an ultrasonic wave is sent through the chip with a transducer, it passes through the chip unhindered. But as soon as it hits the water film with the hydrogen bubbles, it continues to travel only through the liquid, creating a sound pressure profile with cut-outs at the points where the air bubbles are located, similar to a collimator. To form a different sound profile, the hydrogen bubbles are first dissipated away from the chip, which can then be used to generate further gas bubbles in a new pattern.

To demonstrate how precisely and variably the SUM projector works, the researchers spelled out the alphabet in a series of sound pressure profiles. To make the letters visible, they caught micro-particles in the various sound pressure profiles. Depending on the sound pattern, the particles arranged themselves into the individual letters. A new sound profile can be generated in about 10 seconds. The study was published on September 10, 2020, in Nature Communications.

“Ultrasound is widely used as a diagnostic tool in both medicine and materials science. It can also be used therapeutically. The ultrasound destroys the cancer cells by specific heating of the diseased tissue. In order to avoid damaging healthy tissue, the sound pressure profile must be precisely shaped,” said Professor Peer Fischer, PhD, of MPI-IS and the University of Stuttgart. “Tailoring an intensive ultrasound field to diseased tissue is somewhat more difficult in the brain. This is because the skullcap distorts the sound wave.”

Related Links:
University of Stuttgart
Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems

Visit expo >

Digital X-Ray Detector Panel

Acuity G4

Pocket Fetal Doppler

CONTEC10C/CL

Post-Processing Imaging System

DynaCAD Prostate

Adjustable Mobile Barrier

M-458

Latest Ultrasound News

Channels

Radiography

view channel

Images in a 75-year-old woman who underwent routine screening mammography in 2022. Left mediolateral oblique views shown from prior screening mammograms: (A) 2015, (B) 2018, (C) 2019, and (D) 2021. In (E) 2022, a new mass developed in the left breast at the 6-o’clock position (arrow), with a (F) corresponding irregular mass at US (arrow). Subsequent US-guided core needle biopsy yielded invasive ductal carcinoma, grade 2. The deep learning 5-year risk scores gradually increased from 2.0 (2015) to 2.1 (2018), 3.4 (2019), 3.6 (2021), and 15.3 (2022). CMFN = centimeters from nipple, LT = left, TRANS = transverse (Photo courtesy of Radiological Society of North America)

AI Tool Predicts Five-Year Breast Cancer Risk from Mammograms

Breast cancer risk assessment during routine screening is difficult because many women who develop the disease have no known genetic mutations or family history. Static risk tools provide limited discrimination... Read more

Image: Screening mammograms and artificial intelligence (AI) score changes over time in two individuals with screen-detected cancer. Full-field digital mammograms show craniocaudal (top) and mediolateral (bottom) views of the left and right breast (Photo courtesy of Radiological Society of North America)

AI Mammography Tools Detect Early Breast Cancer Signs Years Before Diagnosis

Breast cancer screening aims to detect tumors before symptoms develop, but subtle mammographic changes can appear years before diagnosis and may be missed during routine reads. Delayed detection can lead... Read more

$Image: Kyushu University researchers use Dynamic Chest Radiography (DCR) to evaluate the severity of Pulmonary Regurgitation (PR), a common complication after treatment of the congenital heart disease Tetralogy of Fallot. The analysis only requires the patient to hold their breath for seven seconds for a sequence of images of their heart to be taken. The images are then analyzed and extracted into a waveform that can show the severity of PR. The new technique\\\'s detection accuracy of severe PR is 93%, with a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 94%. (Photo courtesty of Kyushu University/Yuzo Yamasaki)$

Rapid X-Ray Test Quantifies Pulmonary Regurgitation After Tetralogy of Fallot Repair

Tetralogy of Fallot is the most common cyanotic congenital heart defect and can leave patients with pulmonary valve regurgitation, a backward flow of blood into the right ventricle after repair.... Read more

Image credit: Shu-Han Chen / St. Paul’s Hospital / National Taiwan University

AI Tool Flags Osteoporosis Risk from Routine Chest X-Rays

Osteoporosis is a progressive loss of bone density that is often silent until a fracture occurs. Current screening frameworks concentrate on older women and select high-risk groups. Many men, younger adults,... Read more

MRI

view channel

Image: Video and scientific image caption: Demonstration of ELITE results in two patients — a technology that provides high temporal and spatial resolution, reduces noise, and enhances the visualization of breast tumor (marked in yellow) and blood vessels morphology (Photo courtesy of Dr. Eddy Solomon/Technion - Israel Institute of Technology)

AI Reconstruction Tool Speeds Dynamic Breast MRI and Improves Cancer Detection

Breast cancer affects about 2.3 million people each year, creating sustained demand for precise imaging. Dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is highly sensitive, yet slow acquisitions hinder real-time... Read more

International Study Assesses AI for Prostate Cancer MRI Interpretation

Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer morbidity in men, and accurate early diagnosis hinges on expert interpretation of prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Rapid adoption of MRI-first pathways... Read more

$Image: By training the AI with simulations, researchers can reconstruct brain images with high precision using only one-tenth of the data typically required in magnetic resonance imaging. The image shows a metric known as “fractional anisotropy”—an index of myelination—obtained using conventional methods and with the new approach (Photo courtesy of Instituto de Neurociencias UMH CSIC)$