NSF/FDA Scholar-in-Residence at FDA

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0717830MillerThe proposed research is designed to enhance the knowledge base underpinning ultrasonic devices for the diagnosis of bone and heart disease. The premise is that expanding the knowledge base will permit the understanding of basic mechanisms by which such ultrasonic instruments interrogate the tissue. A broader goal of this proposal is the support of the FDA in its mission to facilitate the introduction of new, safe, and effective medical devices into clinical practice. The proposed work is structured to permit the integration of research and education by enabling a professor of physics and graduate students from Washington University in St. Louis to participate in research collaborations within the intramural research environment at the FDA. Ultrasound is the specific area of research targeted for this collaboration, which is designed to contribute to the generation of new knowledge underpinning the development of devices for improved assessment of bone quality and advances in myocardial tissue characterization as an adjunct to echocardiography. Research projects dealing with bone disease will include (1) the effects on diagnostic measuring devices of the potential interference of fast wave and slow wave compressional ultrasonic modes and (2) the impact on diagnostic measurements of phase aberration and phase cancellation at phase sensitive ultrasonic receiving transducer apertures. The potential impact of the results of these studies on diagnostic measurements of bone will be evaluated in part with the aid of microcomputed tomography (microCT) and mechanical testing of bone samples. Projects related to heart will focus on identifying and refining methods to combine multiple features derived from myocardial backscatter. At the present time, most laboratories report only the magnitude of the cyclic variation of backscatter. Additional features that are expected to improve the basis for diagnosis include the time delay of the cyclic variation relative to cardiac systole, the duty cycle of the cyclic variation waveform, and the time rate of change of backscatter during the cyclic variation.