Large aperture and wideband modular ultrasound arrays for the diagnosis of liver cancer

用于肝癌诊断的大孔径宽带模块化超声阵列

• 批准号: 9332693
• 负责人: Katherine W Ferrara
• 金额: $ 66.74万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-03-08 至 2022-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9332693
• 关键词: Abdomen; Acoustics; Address; American; Area; Buffers; Cirrhosis; Clinical; Communities; Computer software; Crystallization; Data; Detection; Development; Diagnosis; Dimensions; Electronics; Elements; Frequencies; Future; General Population; Geometry; Goals; Height; Home environment; Image; Image Enhancement; Imagery; Individual; Industry; Lateral; Lead; Lesion; Liver; Liver diseases; Liver neoplasms; Malignant Neoplasms; Malignant neoplasm of liver; Manufacturer Name; Methods; Monitor; Obesity; Overweight; Patients; Phase; Population; Primary Malignant Neoplasm of Liver; Primary carcinoma of the liver cells; Process; Production; Research; Resolution; Screening for Hepatocellular Cancer; Screening procedure; Signal Transduction; Sonication; Stream; Structure; Survival Rate; System; Techniques; Technology; Temperature; Thick; Tissues; Transducers; Ultrasonic Transducer; Ultrasonography; Universities; Virus Diseases; Width; Work; abdominal wall; base; cancer risk; contrast imaging; data access; design; experience; flexible electronics; human study; improved; in vivo; interest; novel; open source; prevent; programs; prototype; screening; signal processing; transmission process; volcano; voltage

Our project has two fundamental goals: 1) develop modular large aperture, high channel count arrays with associated electronics and make these modules widely available to the academic community, and 2) use these arrays to improve abdominal ultrasound (US) for the diagnosis of liver cancer, particularly for difficult to image patients. The overall 5-year relative survival rate for patients with primary liver cancer is 16%.  Imaging is used to monitor liver disease resulting from viral infections or cirrhosis and to detect a transition to malignancy, and ultrasound is the only recommended method for screening such patients at risk for cancer.  Yet, in patients with an abdominal wall thickness greater than 2.5 cm, only 33% of lesions were detected. More than 2/3 of Americans are now overweight or obese and larger channel count arrays and larger array footprints will improve imaging within this population and improve the detection of small lesions in the general population. Our approach addresses improved resolution (large aperture and bandwidth), sensitivity (single crystal transducers), high frame rate for super-resolution imaging (hundreds of frame/sec feasible), yield (array is composed of high yield modules), and image contrast (new switching capabilities enable new beamformation methods). Lateral US resolution is inversely proportional to the transducer aperture and consequently, improved resolution requires an increased number of transducer elements and electronic channels as well as advanced beam formation methods. Even in the presence of aberrating tissues the contrast achieved from an extended aperture facilitates the visualization of small structures. We propose to create PIN-PMN-PT array modules of dimension 16 elements (azimuth) by 32 elements (elevation) which will be combined to form large arrays. The user selectable ASIC matrices provide the opportunity to select: 512 elements from within a single module, to combine mirrored elements in elevation or to combine neighboring elements in azimuth or elevation. As a result, 4096 elements within the large aperture array can simultaneously be addressed from a programmable scanner. Preliminary work has resulted in the fabrication of prototype array and ASIC modules. The UC Davis team has been one of the first to produce multi-frequency arrays; USC has pioneered high frequency arrays and is currently home to Wodnicki (20 years of experience in ultrasound ASIC development at GE) and will collaborate with us on the development of high channel count arrays; Duke University has pioneered the development of strategies to use large apertures; Verasonics is the leading manufacturer of programmable ultrasound systems and will work with us to develop data handling methods and to distribute components to the ultrasound community; Sonic Concepts will manufacture the resulting arrays; and GE has offered support as an external advisor on the incorporation of these arrays into other commercial systems. This unique team will develop the technology, evaluate its use in a human study and will disseminate the technology.

我们的项目有两个基本目标：1）开发模块化大孔径、高通道数阵列 相关电子产品并使这些模块广泛可供学术界使用，并且 2）使用这些 改善腹部超声（US）诊断肝癌的阵列，特别是难以成像的肝癌 患者。原发性肝癌患者的总体 5 年相对生存率为 16%。  使用成像 监测由病毒感染或肝硬化引起的肝脏疾病并检测向恶性肿瘤的转变，以及 超声波是筛查此类癌症风险患者的唯一推荐方法。  然而，在患者中 腹壁厚度大于2.5厘米时，仅33%的病变被检出。超过2/3的 美国人现在超重或肥胖，更大的通道数阵列和更大的阵列占地面积将 改善该人群的成像并改善一般人群中小病变的检测。 我们的方法解决了提高分辨率（大孔径和带宽）、灵敏度（单晶 传感器），超分辨率成像的高帧速率（数百帧/秒可行），产量（阵列是 由高产量模块组成）和图像对比度（新的切换功能启用新的波束形成 方法）。横向 US 分辨率与换能器孔径成反比，因此， 提高分辨率需要增加传感器元件和电子通道的数量以及 先进的波束形成方法。即使存在畸变组织，对比度也能通过 扩大的孔径有利于小型结构的可视化。我们建议创建 PIN-PMN-PT 阵列 尺寸为 16 个元素（方位角）乘以 32 个元素（仰角）的模块将组合形成大型 数组。用户可选择的 ASIC 矩阵提供了选择的机会： 从单个矩阵中选择 512 个元素 模块，以组合仰角的镜像元素或组合方位角的相邻元素或 海拔。因此，大孔径阵列内的 4096 个元件可以同时从一个 可编程扫描仪。初步工作已完成原型阵列和 ASIC 模块的制造。 加州大学戴维斯分校的团队是最早生产多频阵列的团队之一；南加州大学开创了高 频率阵列，目前是 Wodnicki 的所在地（拥有 20 年超声 ASIC 开发经验） GE）并将与我们合作开发高通道数阵列；杜克大学有 率先开发了使用大光圈的策略； Verasonics 是领先的制造商 可编程超声系统并将与我们合作开发数据处理方法并分发 超声界的组成部分； Sonic Concepts 将制造最终的阵列；和通用电气有 作为外部顾问，为将这些阵列纳入其他商业系统提供支持。 这个独特的团队将开发该技术，评估其在人体研究中的使用，并将传播该技术 技术。