Computationally efficient algorithms for control of ultrasound phased-array hyperthermia applicators based on a pseudoinverse method

Guiding and monitoring focused ultrasound mediated blood-brain barrier opening in rats using power Doppler imaging and passive acoustic mapping

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) prevents harmful toxins from entering brain but can also inhibit therapeutic molecules designed to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Focused ultrasound (FUS) combined with microbubbles can enhance permeability of BBB and is often performed under MRI guidance. We present an all-ultrasound system capable of targeting desired regions to open BBB with millimeter-scale accuracy in two dimensions based on Doppler images. We registered imaging coordinates to FUS coordinates with target registration error of 0.6 ± 0.3 mm and used the system to target microbubbles flowing in cellulose tube in two in vitro scenarios (agarose-embedded and through a rat skull), while receiving echoes on imaging transducer. We created passive acoustic maps from received echoes and found error between intended location in imaging plane and location of pixel with maximum intensity after passive acoustic maps reconstruction to be within 2 mm in 5/6 cases. We validated ultrasound-guided procedure in three in vivo rat brains by delivering MRI contrast agent to cortical regions of rat brains after BBB opening. Landmark-based registration of vascular maps created with MRI and Doppler ultrasound revealed BBB opening inside the intended focus with targeting accuracy within 1.5 mm. Combined use of power Doppler imaging with passive acoustic mapping demonstrates an ultrasound-based solution to guide focused ultrasound with high precision in rodents.

Ultrasonic neuromodulation

Ultrasonic waves can be non-invasively steered and focused into mm-scale regions across the human body and brain, and their application in generating controlled artificial modulation of neuronal activity could therefore potentially have profound implications for neural science and engineering. Ultrasonic neuro-modulation phenomena were experimentally observed and studied for nearly a century, with recent discoveries on direct neural excitation and suppression sparking a new wave of investigations in models ranging from rodents to humans. In this paper we review the physics, engineering and scientific aspects of ultrasonic fields, their control in both space and time, and their effect on neuronal activity, including a survey of both the field's foundational history and of recent findings. We describe key constraints encountered in this field, as well as key engineering systems developed to surmount them. In closing, the state of the art is discussed, with an emphasis on emerging research and clinical directions.

Two-step hybrid virtual array ray (VAR) technique for focusing through the rib cage

A new methodology for focusing ultrasonic beams noninvasively in the presence of the rib cage is investigated. This investigation is motivated by the need to employ high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) using phased array applicators for the treatment of liver tumors partially shadowed by the rib obstacles. This approach enables us to efficiently perform the ultrasound computational analysis and pattern synthesis in the interior region of the rib cage. The proposed technique consists of two main steps. First, a virtual array is introduced along the intercostal spacings between the solid ribs to generate the prespecified intensity levels at a set of control points within the target region. The second step involves the design of the actual feed array that induces the virtual sources between the intercostal spacings. This design optimization is carried out via the pseudo-inverse technique (minimum norm least squares solution) and by enforcing a constrained preconditioned pseudo-inverse method. The proposed procedure calculates the required primary sources (feed array) while maintaining minimal power deposition over the solid obstacles.

A hybrid computational model for ultrasound phased-array heating in presence of strongly scattering obstacles

A computationally efficient hybrid ray-physical optics (HRPO) model is presented for the analysis and synthesis of multiple-focus ultrasound heating patterns through the human rib cage. In particular, a ray method is used to propagate the ultrasound fields from the source to the frontal plane of the rib cage. The physical-optics integration method is then employed to obtain the intensity pattern inside the rib cage. The solution of the matrix system is carried out by using the pseudo inverse technique to synthesize the desired heating pattern. The proposed technique guides the fields through the intercostal spacings between the solid ribs and, thus, minimal intensity levels are observed over the solid ribs. This simulation model allows for the design and optimization of large-aperture phased-array applicator systems for noninvasive ablative thermal surgery in the heart and liver through the rib cage.

Optimizing ultrasound focus distributions for hyperthermia

A method is described for generating ultrasound focus patterns for ultrasound hyperthermia treatment planning for steady state and transient hyperthermia. The solution for placement and intensity of ultrasound focus points is based on two types of temperature constraints: 1) equality constraints on the tumor boundary (temperature is held at maximum safe level) and 2) inequality constraints in the tumor interior (in a therapeutic range of temperatures). The method employs a simplex algorithm to solve a series of linear equations which approximate the heating distribution in tissue. Examples are given for field conjugate acoustic lens applicators capable of generating multiple foci simultaneously.

Field conjugate acoustic lenses for ultrasound hyperthermia

Multipoint foci have been synthesized by applying the pseudoinverse field conjugation method to a single ultrasonic transducer coupled to a polystyrene lens. The lens design is based on phased array calculations are then fabricated on a computer-controlled milling machine. The measured beam patterns from the lenses agree closely with the beam patterns predicted by theory for the equivalent phased arrays. Temperature distributions from thermal modeling and those measured in tissue equivalent phantoms show that the lens system is capable of generating strongly localized, controlled temperature fields for hyperthermia.

Effect of phase errors on field patterns generated by an ultrasound phased-array hyperthermia applicator

The effect of phase quantization errors and Gaussian distributed random phase errors on field patterns synthesized by a rectangular ultrasound phased array hyperthermia applicator is studied. The parameters defined show that, over the range of four-bit to one-bit quantization, the simulated, patterns degrade with increasing phase errors. However, the overall shape and position of the foci remain unchanged. Simulation results show that, even with one-bit phase quantization, or with a Gaussian distributed random phase error of standard deviation of about 52 degrees , the applicator can still produce useful, if not particularly clean, power deposition patterns. Thus, the power deposition patterns are remarkably stable tolerating quite large phase error levels. This suggests that the power deposition patterns inside the body may be relatively insensitive to phase errors due to tissue inhomogeneities.