LEAP-HI: Investigation of coupled skull-brain vibroacoustics and ultrasound toward enhanced therapy and diagnosis

这个美国繁荣、健康和基础设施领先工程（LEAP-HI）项目承诺在脑癌、脑外伤和颅骨缺陷的诊断和治疗、脑功能测绘和神经刺激方面取得重大进展。该奖项支持基础研究，以克服目前在引导声能通过颅骨并以受控方式进入大脑方面的困难。本课程将研究从低频到超声的广泛频率范围内颅-脑系统的振动和波传播特性，采用协同分析、计算和实验方法，全面系统地研究颅-脑系统的振动、振动声学和波传播特性，并探讨其与医学诊断和治疗的相关性。将颅骨和大脑作为一个综合的动力系统进行研究，不仅将促进对超声治疗的理解，而且还将为诊断和治疗开辟新的可能性。总的来说，这项研究项目的成果预计将在与公共卫生有关的领域产生广泛的社会影响，特别是与大脑和中枢神经系统有关的紊乱和疾病。本跨学科研究计划的目标是探索颅脑系统的振动和超声波传播特性，以改善治疗和诊断。具体的研究问题是：(1)能否利用对颅脑系统耦合振动声学的深入了解，更有效地克服颅脑屏障；(2)兰姆波和纵向体波是否能够靶向目前无法到达的脑区进行治疗；(3)参数阵列效应与颅脑系统的模态振动相结合，能否提高治疗和成像频率范围内的靶向性？研究活动将集中在以下两个主要组成部分：(1)空间相位和振幅调制兰姆波的可行性论证，用于靶向目前无法进入的基于超声治疗的大脑区域；(2)参数超声和声辐射力效应的研究，以及颅脑系统的模态振动，以改善治疗和成像频率范围内的靶向。跨学科研究团队将专注于基于Lamb波的跨颅超声传输和聚焦，颅脑系统振动模式的超声激发以及大脑中有限振幅的声音传播效应。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Leading Engineering for America's Prosperity, Health, and Infrastructure (LEAP-HI) project promises important improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of brain cancer, brain trauma and cranial defects, the mapping of brain function, and neurostimulation. The award supports fundamental research to overcome current difficulties in guiding acoustical energy through the skull and into the brain in a controlled way. It will investigate vibration and wave propagation characteristics of the skull-brain system over a broad frequency range, from low frequencies to the ultrasound regime, by using synergistic analytical, computational and experimental methods to thoroughly and systematically investigate the vibration, vibroacoustics, and wave propagation properties of the skull-brain system and explore their relevance to medical diagnosis and therapy. The investigation of the skull and brain as a combined dynamical system will not only advance understanding of ultrasound-based treatments, but also open new possibilities for diagnosis and therapy. Overall, the outcomes of this research project are expected to have broad societal impacts in areas related to the public health, especially for disorders and diseases related to the brain and central nervous system. The objective of this interdisciplinary research project is to explore the vibration and ultrasonic wave propagation characteristics of the skull-brain system to improve therapeutics and diagnosis. The specific research questions are: (1) can an in-depth understanding of the coupled vibroacoustics of the skull-brain system be leveraged to more effectively overcome the skull barrier; (2) can the use of Lamb waves and longitudinal bulk waves enable the targeting of currently inaccessible brain regions for therapy; (3) can parametric array effects coupled with modal vibrations of the skull-brain system lead to improved targeting over the therapeutic and imaging frequency ranges? Research activities will be concentrated on the following two major components: (1) feasibility demonstration of spatially phase- and amplitude-modulated Lamb waves for targeting of currently inaccessible brain regions for ultrasound-based treatments, and (2) investigation of parametric ultrasound and acoustic radiation force effects coupled with modal vibrations of the skull-brain system for improved targeting over the therapeutic and imaging frequency ranges. The interdisciplinary research team will be focused on tasks pertaining to Lamb wave-based trans-skull ultrasound transmission and focusing, ultrasound excitation of skull-brain system vibration modes, and finite-amplitude sound propagation effects in the brain.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.