NEW ULTRASOUND PHASED ARRAY APPLICATORS FOR HYPERTHERMIA

体温过高，尤指与电离结合使用 放射治疗正在成为癌症治疗的一种可行的方式。一次高潮 目前可用的临床数据的百分比是通过 喷头几乎不允许控制内部的加热模式 治疗体积。然而，这种控制对于获得 治疗上最佳的温度分布，特别是当血液 治疗过程中血流量发生变化。我们建议继续开发新的 用于超声热疗喷射器的相控阵概念 提供所需的加热灵活性。这个项目有两个主要的 目标：1.将超声相控阵技术和样机 在第一个赠款期间开发的系统进入临床，以及2.到 密切合作，继续发展相控阵技术 我们的临床同事。定点相控阵的临床试验 将在一个联盟下对人类患者实施这一系统 杜克大学的安排。新技术的开发将是 紧密结合临床实际需求。其主要目标是 增强临床肿瘤加热能力，我们将继续 开发：1.可整合或灵活的阵列，允许放置和 用于特定部位治疗的最佳孔径的合成；2.用于 允许将多个窗口同时使用到治疗体积中； 允许对患者呼吸进行自动实时校正的算法 和移动；以及4.允许实时相位像差的算法 由于组织不均匀而进行的校正。前四项的成就 Goals将通过开发小型侵入式水听器探头来帮助实现 从处理体积获得声学反馈。此阶段的方法 我们实验室开发了纠错技术并将其应用于 产生了测量的阵列场模式，它们非常吻合 有理论上的预测。作为对临床的额外增强 应用这些阵列，我们还将开发；5.患者治疗 一种规划软件，允许将所有可用窗口映射到 将处理体积放到身体表面或阵列的计算图像上 孔径；6.声学和热学模拟算法的修改 以前已经开发成允许，从所需的规格 离散控制点的温度、量值的计算和 所有阵元驱动信号的相位，以及7.VLSI芯片 将多路数字相位合成网络简化为单通道 电脑控制芯片为频道服务。

Hyperthermia, particularly when used in conjunction with ionizing radiation, is becoming a viable modality for cancer treatment. A high percentage of the clinical data currently available were obtained with applicators allowing little control of heating patterns within the treatment volume. However, such control is essential for obtaining therapeutically optimum temperature distributions, particularly when blood flow changes during treatment. We propose to continue development of new phased array concepts for ultrasound hyperthermia applicators which should provide the needed heating flexibility. This project has two primary goals: 1. To take the ultrasound phased array technology and prototype systems developed in the first grant period into the clinic, and 2. To continue development of phased array technology with close cooperation with our clinical colleagues. Clinical trials of site-specific phased array systems will be carried out on human patients under a consortium arrangement at Duke University. Development of new technology will be closely tied to actual clinical requirements. With the primary goal of enhancing clinical tumor heating capabilities, we will continue the development of: 1. Conformable or flexible arrays allowing placement and synthesis of optimal apertures for site-specific therapy; 2. Algorithms for allowing simultaneous use of multiple windows into a treatment volume; 3. Algorithms to allow automatic real time correction for patient breathing and movement; and 4. Algorithms to allow real-time phase aberration corrections due to tissue inhomogeneities. Achievement of these first four goals will be aided by development of small invasive hydrophone probes to obtain acoustic feedback from a treatment volume. This approach for phase error correction has been developed in our laboratory and its application has resulted in measured array field patterns which agree remarkably well with theoretical predictions. As additional enhancements to the clinical application of these arrays, we will also develop; 5. Patient treatment planning software which allows mapping of all available windows into a treatment volume onto a computed image of the body surface or array aperture; 6. Modifications of acoustic and thermal modelling algorithms we have previously developed to allow, from specification of desired temperatures at discrete control points, computation of the magnitude and phases for all the array element driving signals, and 7. VLSI chips to reduce the multichannel digital phase synthesis networks to a single computer controlled chip serving 64 channels.