Physics in Medicine and Biology ; DOI:10.1088/0031-9155/47/8/301
A technique for focusing ultrasound through the human skull is described and verified. The approach is based on a layered wavevector-frequency domain model, which propagates ultrasound from a hemisphere-shaped transducer through the skull using input from CT scans of the head. The algorithm calculates the driving phase of each transducer element in order to maximize the signal at the intended focus. This approach is tested on ten ex vivo human skulls using a 0.74 MHz, 320-element array. A stereotaxic reference frame is affixed to the skulls in order to provide accurate registration between the CT images and the transducer. The focal quality is assessed with a hydrophone placed inside the skull. In each trial the phase correction algorithm successfully restored the focus inside the skull at a location within 1 mm from the intended focal point. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using the method for completely non-invasive ultrasound brain surgery and therapy.
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See also related conference proceedings:
Treatment Planning for Transskull Ultrasound Surgery and Therapy, 17th International Congress on Acoustics, Rome 2001. DOI: 10.13140/2.1.4991.2002.
Clinic Ultrasound Laboratory (クレメント超音波研究室)
Cleveland Clinic (クリーブランド・クリニック),
Lerner Research Institute
Case Western Reserve University
© 2014
For a comprehensive listing see PUBLICATIONS
Clement GT, Nomura H, Adachi H, Kamakura T, Feasibility of non-contact ultrasound for medical imaging, Physics in Medicine and Biology 2014; 58: 6263-6278
Tang SC, Jolesz FA, Clement GT. A Wireless Batteryless Implantable Ultrasonic Pulser-Receiver. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control 2011;58:1211-21.
Paltiel HJ, Padua HM, Gargollo PC, Cannon GM Jr, Alomari AI, Yu R, Clement GT. Volumetric ultrasound imaging of tissue perfusion: preliminary results in a rabbit model... Phys Med Biol 2011;56:2183-97.
McDannold N, Clement GT, Black P, Jolesz F, Hynynen K. Focused ultrasound surgery of brain tumors: Initial findings in three patients. Neurosurgery 2010;66:323-32; discussion 332.
Clement GT, Hynynen K. A non-invasive method for focusing ultrasound through the human skull. Phys Med Biol 2002;47(8):1219-36.