CAREER: Super-Resolution 3D Ultrasound Imaging of Brain Activity

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Current tools scientists use to study brain activity tend to be either slow, invasive, expensive, or unable to take precise measurements widely or deeply. This project will create a new 3D ultrasound imaging tool that is fast, non-invasive, affordable, and able to measure activity everywhere in a rat’s brain in high-resolution. With this tool, scientists will be able to better research and understand how the brain works. This new ability to measure and understand brain activity could help improve teaching and learning, assess many brain-related conditions, and lead to new therapies.The project will design and build a new ultrasound transducer array probe that can operate at two very different frequencies. The array will be able to create and sense chirp vibrations in tiny microbubbles that can safely flow through blood vessels in the body. Bubble echo signals will be uniquely processed to quickly show detailed changes in blood flow in the brain that relate to neural activity. The image resolution will be less than 0.05 mm over the full 3D field of view.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.