Dual-source 3D ultrasound and adaptive imaging for guidance and elastography

到2012年，医疗超声市场预计将从40亿美元强劲增长到60亿美元（InMedica，2009）。超声的新兴领域是麻醉、急诊医学和外科（年增长率为15%）。通过向超声机添加新功能和提高图像质量，推动了增长。与此同时，超声波正在经历一场小型化革命，一些主要制造商现在正在提供新的超便携系统。新功能的组合，更好的图像质量在一个小的低成本的包将使超声吸引医生谁没有使用超声为给定的任务之前。有了这样的系统，超声的临床应用范围将增加。该项目旨在通过两个超声换能器优于一个的简单概念提供新的功能和改进的图像质量。特别是，该资助的具体目标是通过使用（1）使用两个超声头的定制换能器设计，（2）自适应图像处理，以及（3）从超声信号描绘组织硬度的新方法，同时保持实时成像，低成本和便携性的现有优势，在超声能力方面实现飞跃。这项研究意义重大，因为这种新的超声换能器和成像方法可以使许多领域的患者护理受益。例如，我已经在探索超声波如何改善微创机器人手术，通过检测硬块来检测癌症，以及引导活检和麻醉的针头插入。所有这些领域都可以从赠款中拟议的研究中受益。

The medical ultrasound market is expected to grow robustly from $4B to $6B by 2012 (InMedica, 2009). The emerging areas of ultrasound are anesthesia, emergency medicine and surgery (15% annual growth). Growth is fuelled by adding new functions to the ultrasound machine, and by improving the image quality. At the same time, ultrasound is experiencing a revolution in miniaturization, with new ultra-portable systems now being offered by some of the major manufacturers. The combination of new functionality, better image quality in a small low-cost package would make ultrasound attractive to doctors who have not used ultrasound for a given task before. With such systems, the range of clinical applications for ultrasound would increase. This project is aimed at providing new functionality and improved image quality through the simple concept that two ultrasound transducers are better than one. In particular, the specific objectives of this grant are to make a leap forward in the capability of ultrasound through the use of (1) custom transducer design using two ultrasound heads, (2) adaptive image processing, and (3) novel methods to depict tissue stiffness from ultrasounds signals, while maintaining the existing benefits of real-time imaging, low cost and portability. This research is significant because such a new line of ultrasound transducers and imaging methods can benefit patient care in many areas. For example, I am already exploring how ultrasound can improve minimally-invasive robotic surgery, detection of cancer by detecting stiff lumps, and guidance of needle insertions for biopsy and anesthesia. All of these areas could benefit from the proposed research in the grant.