Basic Science and Instrumentation Scientific Session 1
Improved Cavitation Energy Localization Mapping via a Random Apodization with Minimum Intensity Projection Algorithm.
Sunday, April 7, 2024
9:28am – 9:40am
Location: 412
Authors: Weston Gaskins, University of Cincinnati Kenneth Bader, University of Chicago Kevin Haworth, University of Cincinnati
Therapeutic ultrasound is a burgeoning field with reimbursed therapies for essential tremor and thrombolysis, FDA approved devices for thermal ablation for malignancies in the prostate and uterus and mechanical ablation for liver metastases, and successful clinical trials in drug delivery in the pancreas, brain, and other organs. To enable truly non-invasive therapies, therapeutic ultrasound must be image-guided. Following the AIUM’s mantra of “Ultrasound First,” passive cavitation imaging is a novel algorithm that can be used to help guide therapies that use microbubbles to induce beneficial bioeffects. However, the image quality is limited with current algorithms. This study investigated a novel algorithm using in silico simulations. Results demonstrate reductions in the artifactual mapping of microbubble activity and improved resolution and localization. Details of these studies are described, which point toward a path for correlating bioeffects with images in order to fully develop ultrasound-guided therapeutic ultrasound.