Wearable Ultrasound Sensors for Sonomyography in Robotic Prosthesis and Augmentation

用于机器人假肢和增强超声检查的可穿戴超声传感器

• 批准号: 2603427
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Glasgow
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2603427
• 关键词: Wearable; Ultrasound; Sensors; Sonomyography; Robotic

This project aims to demonstrate the potential of sonomyography as an imaging technique for the assessment of muscle activity which could lead to more efficient and accurate diagnosis of myopathies and damage to the peripheral nervous system. In order to do this, the first step will be to decide the best material for such a task. Since this project will be focused around the use of microultrasound through a flexible piezoelectric sensor, the main materials found to be of interest have been lead zirconate titanate (PZT), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and aluminium nitride (AIN) since these have shown adequate results as demonstrated in the state of the art. It is worth noting that microultrasound, also known as high-frequency ultrasound, has been chosen because of the enhanced spatial resolution that it offers, although this could pose an obstacle due to the imaging depth decreasing. Such an obstacle could be potentially avoided by making this an implantable device, which will also be investigated during the project.Once the most suitable material is chosen, the device will go through different design phases: single electrode, array, acoustic matching layer and acoustic lens, in order to optimise the design proposed. Finally, the project will conclude by investigating the modulation on the muscles caused by the microultrasound patch design. Such methodology has been previously shown in the literature.

本项目旨在展示声学作为一种评估肌肉活动的成像技术的潜力，从而可以更有效和准确地诊断肌肉疾病和周围神经系统的损伤。为了做到这一点，第一步将是为这项任务确定最好的材料。由于该项目将集中于通过柔性压电传感器使用微超声，因此被发现感兴趣的主要材料是锆钛酸铅(PZT)、聚偏氟乙烯(PVDF)和氮化铝(AIN)，因为这些材料已经显示出足够的结果，正如在最先进的技术中所证明的那样。值得注意的是，显微超声，也称为高频超声，之所以被选中，是因为它提供了更高的空间分辨率，尽管这可能会由于成像深度的下降而造成障碍。这种障碍可以通过将其制成植入式装置来避免，这一点也将在项目期间进行研究。一旦选择了最合适的材料，该装置将经历不同的设计阶段：单电极、阵列、声学匹配层和声透镜，以优化拟议的设计。最后，本项目将通过研究微超声贴片设计对肌肉的调制来结束该项目。这样的方法论在以前的文献中已经被展示过。