Diagnosing Small Joints by Soft Ultrasound Probes

项目总结 小关节疾病，如关节炎和肌腱异常，不仅导致 持久的病人痛苦，但也带来了高昂的医疗成本。肌肉骨骼超声成像是一种无价的 诊断这些疾病的工具。然而，目前的刚性和平面超声探头接触有限。 小关节具有高度弯曲的不规则表面的区域，这导致声耦合差和 有限的超声检查窗口。此外，刚性探头需要有经验的专业人员对关节进行背部扫描 四是扫描位置和方向不同，劳动强度大，耗时长。在……里面 此外，这会在获取的图像中造成各向异性伪影，因此高度依赖于操作员。在这 项目中，提出了一种薄而软的超声波探头，以允许与小的 用于全面、快速和无伪影检查的关节。其方法是探索一种创新的 将一组高性能刚性超声换能器与一个 弹性聚合物基质，因此得到的系统的机械性能将类似于 人的皮肤。基于相控阵控制机制的先进成像处理算法 发展起来的。获得的图像将在轴向和横向两个维度上都具有高分辨率。最终的设备 将在身体手指关节上进行测试，收集的结果将与传统的 超声波探头。软超声探头可能会提出一种变革性的技术，它有望 用于小关节的下一代可穿戴诊断设备。

PROJECT SUMMARY Diseases of small joints such as arthritis and tendon abnormalities are prevalent, which leads to not only lasting patient suffering but also heavy healthcare cost. Musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging is an invaluable tool for diagnosing these diseases. However, current rigid and planar ultrasound probes have limited contact area with the highly curved irregular surfaces of the small joints, which leads to poor acoustic coupling and limited sonographic window. Also, the rigid probes require experienced professionals to scan the joints back and forth, with different scanning positions and orientations, which is labor-intensive and time-consuming. In addition, this causes anisotropic artifacts in the acquired images and is thus highly operator-dependent. In this project, a thin and soft ultrasound probe is proposed to allow conformal and intimate integration with the small joints for comprehensive, rapid, and artifact-free examinations. The approach is to explore an innovative “island-bridge” structure that integrates an array of high performance rigid ultrasound transducers with an elastomeric polymer matrix, so mechanical properties of the resulting system will be similar to those of the human skin. Advanced imaging processing algorithm based on phased-array control mechanism will be developed. The acquired images will be high resolution in both axial and lateral dimensions. The final device will be tested on cadaver finger joints, and the collected results will be verified with these from conventional ultrasound probes. The soft ultrasound probes may suggest a transformative technology that holds promise for the next generation of wearable diagnostic devices for the small joints.