Phase I: interactive ultrasound simulator for sonographer training and accreditation

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Ultrasound is one of the most widely used medical imaging modalities. More than 80 million ultra-sound studies are conducted each year in North America. With the advent of new portable ultrasound systems, new applications are emerging and are being used in over 20 specializations, including diag-nostic imaging and image guided procedures. Compared to other imaging modalities, ultrasound has a number of key advantages, including low cost, ability to produce images in real-time, and does not use ionizing radiation.As a result, it is expected that the demand for ultrasound sonographers will increase by 23% in 2023. On the other hand, ultrasound images are notoriously difficult to interpret, and depend heavily on the expertise of the operator in placing the transducer and adjusting numerous system parameters. Conse-quently, there is a gap is supplying sufficient numbers of trained sonographers to meet this demand. To accelerate training, healthcare education is turning to medical simulation equipment. Indeed this market has grown significantly to about $1 billion in 2013 and is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 20%. We have developed a physics-based computational method that capable of real-time, operator-dependent simulation of any ultrasound mode and across an unlimited variety of virtual organs and pa-thologies. Unlike our competitors who are dependent on pre-recorded data and empirical information, our system simulates the physics of ultrasound. Because of this and early conversations with end-users, we believe we have a compelling advantage in being able to cost-effectively simulate clinically realistic images (including the most important artifacts) in real-time with operator-dependent control parameters and provide the high degree of realism that the market demands. This proposal outlines the development plan leading to end-user focus groups to validate product-market fit.