Portable C-scan Ultrasound for Rapid Vascular Access

描述(由申请人提供)：这项研究和开发的目标是通过实现更快的血管访问和最大限度地减少失败的尝试来拯救生命和提高需要血管访问的人的护理质量。在许多快速静脉输液或药物可以改变患者预后的情况下，实现快速的血管通路是至关重要的。这项第一阶段的提案寻求资金，以支持开发一种名为Sonic Window的低成本(每台2,000美元)、易于使用和高度便携的C-Scan超声成像系统。该系统的大小将与移动电话或PDA相当，旨在满足没有医学成像经验的用户的需求，而成本仅为目前可用的便携式超声系统的一小部分。C-Scan格式与集成在传感器上的紧凑型显示器相结合，使用户能够在透视中看到图像，如果您有一个透过皮肤进入感兴趣组织或血管的清晰窗口，则可以获得该图像。Sonic Window是通过结合低调2D阵列、定制集成电路、在商用数字信号处理器和LCD显示器上实现的新颖波束形成和图像处理算法来实现的。创新的技术方法被用来绕过传统的工程学观点，即C-Scan(平行于皮肤表面的图像平面)成像固有地比B超成像(垂直于皮肤表面的平面)更复杂和昂贵。这项第一阶段研究的具体目的是验证这样一种假设，即C扫描图像格式和与换能器集成的显示器将使超声新手用户更容易、更快地执行超声引导的血管进入程序。这一假设将通过一项无生命超声模型的研究来验证，在该模型中，护理人员使用Sonic窗口系统来引导快速外周静脉进入。这些程序将直接与由最先进的商业B超便携式超声系统指导的程序进行比较，该系统专为血管通道应用而设计。护理人员之所以被选入这项研究，是因为他们以前没有接触过大量的超声波，但接受过外周静脉插管的培训。在本研究开始之前，我们将完成原型Sonic窗口系统的集成，并进行系统验证和优化。这项研究得出的积极结论表明，该原型更快、更容易使用，这将增强人们对Sonic Window产品商业可行性的信心。在未来的开发阶段，我们将把这项工作扩展到包括人体研究，并展示Sonic Window在指导更复杂的进入程序(如中心线插入)方面的有效性。这项研究是PocketSonics公司和弗吉尼亚大学生物医学工程系之间的合作成果。电气与计算机工程专业。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this research and development is to save lives and improve quality of care of people requiring vascular access by enabling quicker access and minimizing failed attempts. Achieving rapid vascular access is critical in many cases where rapid administration of IV fluids or medications can alter patient outcomes. This Phase I proposal seeks funding to support the development of a low-cost (<$2,000 per unit), easy to use, and highly portable C-Scan ultrasonic imaging system called the Sonic Window. This system will be comparable in size to a mobile phone or PDA and is designed to meet the needs of users with no experience in medical imaging at a fraction of the cost of currently available portable ultrasound systems. The C-scan format combined with the compact display integrated at the transducer allows the user to see the image in the perspective that would be obtained if you had a clear 'window' through the skin into the tissue or vessel of interest. The Sonic Window is being realized by combining a low profile 2D array, custom integrated circuits, novel beamforming and image processing algorithms implemented on a commercial Digital Signal Processor and a LCD display. Innovative technological approaches are employed to circumvent conventional engineering wisdom that holds that C-Scan (image plane parallel to skin surface) imaging is inherently more complex and costly than B-Scan imaging (plane perpendicular to skin surface). The specific aim of this Phase I research is to test the hypothesis that the C-scan image format and the display integrated with the transducer will make it easier and faster for novice ultrasound users to perform ultrasound-guided vascular access procedures. This hypothesis will be tested using a study with an inanimate ultrasound model in which paramedics use the Sonic Window system for guiding rapid peripheral IV access. These procedures will be compared directly to those guided by a state-of-the-art commercial B- Scan portable ultrasound system designed for vascular access applications. Paramedics are chosen for this study because they do not have significant prior exposure to the use of ultrasound but are trained in obtaining peripheral IV catheterization. Before this study can begin, we will complete integration of the prototype Sonic Window system and perform system validation and optimization. A positive conclusion from this study, demonstrating that this prototype is faster and easier to use, will provide increased confidence in the commercial feasibility for the Sonic Window product. In future stages of development, we will extend this work to include human studies as well as demonstrate the effectiveness of the Sonic Window for guiding more complicated access procedures such as central line insertions. This research is a collaborative effort between PocketSonics, Inc. and the University of Virginia Departments of Biomedical Eng. and Electrical and Computer Eng.