LEAP-HI: Investigation of coupled skull-brain vibroacoustics and ultrasound toward enhanced therapy and diagnosis

这一领先的美国繁荣、健康和基础设施工程(LEAP-HI)项目承诺在脑癌、脑创伤和颅骨缺陷的诊断和治疗、脑功能图谱和神经刺激方面做出重要改进。该奖项支持基础研究，以克服目前在以受控方式引导声能通过头骨进入大脑方面的困难。它将研究颅脑系统在从低频到超声状态的广泛频率范围内的振动和波传播特性，采用协同分析、计算和实验方法，深入系统地研究颅脑系统的振动、振动声学和波传播特性，并探讨它们与医学诊断和治疗的相关性。将颅脑作为一个联合的动力学系统进行研究，不仅将促进对基于超声的治疗的了解，而且将为诊断和治疗开辟新的可能性。总体而言，这一研究项目的成果预计将在与公共卫生相关的领域产生广泛的社会影响，特别是在与大脑和中枢神经系统有关的疾病和疾病方面。这一跨学科研究项目的目的是探索颅脑系统的振动和超声波传播特性，以提高治疗和诊断水平。具体的研究问题是：(1)能否利用对颅脑系统耦合振动声学的深入了解来更有效地克服颅骨障碍；(2)兰姆波和纵向块波的使用是否能够针对目前无法触及的大脑区域进行治疗；(3)参数阵列效应与颅脑系统的模式振动相结合是否能够在治疗和成像频率范围内改进靶向？研究活动将集中在以下两个主要部分：(1)空间相位和幅度调制的兰姆波用于靶向目前无法到达的基于超声的治疗的脑区的可行性论证，以及(2)研究参数超声和声辐射力效应以及头骨-大脑系统的模式振动，以在治疗和成像频率范围内改善靶向。跨学科研究团队将专注于基于兰姆波的跨颅骨超声传输和聚焦、颅脑系统振动模式的超声激励以及大脑中有限幅度的声音传播效应。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Leading Engineering for America's Prosperity, Health, and Infrastructure (LEAP-HI) project promises important improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of brain cancer, brain trauma and cranial defects, the mapping of brain function, and neurostimulation. The award supports fundamental research to overcome current difficulties in guiding acoustical energy through the skull and into the brain in a controlled way. It will investigate vibration and wave propagation characteristics of the skull-brain system over a broad frequency range, from low frequencies to the ultrasound regime, by using synergistic analytical, computational and experimental methods to thoroughly and systematically investigate the vibration, vibroacoustics, and wave propagation properties of the skull-brain system and explore their relevance to medical diagnosis and therapy. The investigation of the skull and brain as a combined dynamical system will not only advance understanding of ultrasound-based treatments, but also open new possibilities for diagnosis and therapy. Overall, the outcomes of this research project are expected to have broad societal impacts in areas related to the public health, especially for disorders and diseases related to the brain and central nervous system. The objective of this interdisciplinary research project is to explore the vibration and ultrasonic wave propagation characteristics of the skull-brain system to improve therapeutics and diagnosis. The specific research questions are: (1) can an in-depth understanding of the coupled vibroacoustics of the skull-brain system be leveraged to more effectively overcome the skull barrier; (2) can the use of Lamb waves and longitudinal bulk waves enable the targeting of currently inaccessible brain regions for therapy; (3) can parametric array effects coupled with modal vibrations of the skull-brain system lead to improved targeting over the therapeutic and imaging frequency ranges? Research activities will be concentrated on the following two major components: (1) feasibility demonstration of spatially phase- and amplitude-modulated Lamb waves for targeting of currently inaccessible brain regions for ultrasound-based treatments, and (2) investigation of parametric ultrasound and acoustic radiation force effects coupled with modal vibrations of the skull-brain system for improved targeting over the therapeutic and imaging frequency ranges. The interdisciplinary research team will be focused on tasks pertaining to Lamb wave-based trans-skull ultrasound transmission and focusing, ultrasound excitation of skull-brain system vibration modes, and finite-amplitude sound propagation effects in the brain.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.