Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique

Institut National De La Sante Et De La Recherche Medicale

Supersonic Imagine

Ecole Superieure De Physique Et De Chimie Industrielles De La Ville De Paris

Université Pierre Et Marie Curie (Paris 6)

Université Paris Diderot-Paris 7

Université Pierre Et Marie Curie

Université Paris Diderot

Ecole Suprerieure De Physique Et De Chimie Industrielles De La Ville De Paris

Cardiawave, Ecole SupÉrieure De Physique

Universite Paris 7—Denis Diderot 2

Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique-cnrs

Universite Paris Cité

Inserm (institut National De La Sante Et De La Recherche Medicale)

Cardiawave

Mickaël Tanter

Mathieu Pernot

Mathias Fink

Jean-Luc Gennisson

Thomas Deffieux

Jeremy Bercoff

Ralph Sinkus

Gabriel Montaldo

Claude Cohen-Bacrie

David Savery

Jean-Baptiste Laudereau

Jean-François Aubry

Mathieu Couade

Jean-Louis Pierre Thomas

Clément Papadacci

Zsolt Lenkei

Bruno-Félix Osmanski

Ivan Cohen

Justine Robin

François Ramaz

Jean-Luc Gennison

A method for mapping fibrous media by propagation of ultrasound from a set transducers, wherein: a number of unfocused incident ultrasonic waves having different wavefronts are emitted; the signals reverberated by the medium toward each transducer are captured; coherent signals respectively corresponding, for each transducer, to contributions coming from different fictitious focal points in the medium are determined; and then the orientation of the fibers is determined by comparing a spatial coherence between said coherent signals, in a plurality of directions.

Method and device for mapping fibrous media

The invention relates to a method for obtaining a numerical model, the numerical model associating at least one objective measurement to a subjective sensation, the method comprising the steps of: a) imaging the at least one area of the brain by using unfocused waves produced by a transcranial ultrasound probe (), to obtain at least one acquired image of the activity of the area, b) evaluating a physical quantity representative of the activity of the at least one area based on the acquired images, to obtain at least one objective measurement, c) obtaining from the subject at least one numerical value representative of a subjective sensation, and d) determining the numerical model by using the obtained objective measurement and the obtained numerical value.

Method for obtaining a numerical model associating an objective measurement to a subjective sensation using ultrasound imaging technique and associated device

A method for characterizing an anisotropic soft medium (C) including fibers and having an outer surface (), by observing in different propagation directions, the propagation of a divergent shear wave from a central area () in the anisotropic soft medium. A propagation parameter of the shear wave is inferred therefrom in each of the propagation directions, and then a direction of the fibers of the anisotropic soft medium, a rheological elasticity parameter are determined in a direction perpendicular to the fibers and a rheological elasticity parameter in the direction of the fibers.

Ultrasonic method and device for characterising weak anisotropic media, and ultrasonic probe assembly for such a characterisation device

The invention concerns a detecting apparatus () comprising:&#x2014;at least two sensors (), with at least one sensor () being an ultrasound transducer adapted to produce ultrasound waves, and&#x2014;a positioning device () defining several compartments (), each compartment () being adapted to hold a sensor () and each compartment () being located at predetermined location, the positioning device () comprising a holder adapted to be fixed on the skull of a subject, the positioning device () being adapted to be maintained on the head of the subject using the holder.

Detecting apparatus and associated kit and method

In order to obtain a predetermined ultrasonic wave field in a homogeneous internal part of a medium masked by an aberrating barrier, an ultrasonic lens is interposed between the emitting ultrasonic probe and the aberrating barrier. The ultrasonic lens is calculated by using a model of the medium comprising a mapping of ultrasonic wave propagation properties obtained from actual imaging of the medium such that when the ultrasound probe sends a predetermined ultrasonic wave, said predetermined wave generates the predetermined objective ultrasonic wave field in the medium.

Insonification method for obtaining a predetermined field of ultrasonic waves and production method for making an ultrasonic lens for these purposes

A method and system for secure ultrasound treatment of living tissues using an ultrasound probe comprising a reflective cavity in acoustic communication with living tissues, a transducer to emit an ultrasound wave in the reflective cavity and a transducer to acquire a backscattered signal in the reflective cavity. The method comprises the steps of a) emitting a first ultrasound wave in the reflective cavity that generates a backscattered ultrasound wave in the reflective cavity, b) acquiring a backscattered signal in the reflective cavity, c) determining whether an insonification can be safely performed by computing a similarity value between the backscattered signal and a predefined reference signal, and d) if an insonification can be safely performed, treating the living tissues with a second ultrasound wave emitted in the reflective cavity. The second ultrasound wave is focused a target point of the living tissues and generates a pressure point resulting in cavitation at this target point.

Method and system for secure insonification of living tissues

According to the invention, n incident acoustic waves Ei(t), obtained by linearly combining n elemental incident waves E(t) with an encoding matrix Hc are consecutively transmitted in a medium to be imaged. n reverberated waves Ri(t) from the medium to be imaged are then consecutively detected, following the transmission of the n incident waves; then n elemental reverberated waves R(t) are determined by linearly combining the detected n reverberated waves Ri(t) with a decoding matrix Hd. The Hc and Hd matrices are such that Hc&#xb7;Hd=D, where D is a diagonal matrix of order n, all the diagonal elements of which are greater than 1.

Acoustic imaging method and device for detecting linearly combined reverberated waves via decoding matrices

The invention concerns a detecting apparatus () for imaging at least two areas of a brain of a subject (), the detecting apparatus () comprising: &#x2014;a holder comprising: &#x2014;a frame () devoted to be cemented on the skull of the subject (), the frame () delimitating an inner portion () which is transparent to ultrasound waves, &#x2014;a removable imaging device comprising: &#x2014;a platform () delimitating an inner space (), the inner space () facing the inner portion (), &#x2014;a fixing element () adapted to temporary fix and lock the platform () to the holder, &#x2014;an ultrasound probe (), and &#x2014;a moving stage () holding the ultrasound probe () and being adapted to move the ultrasound probe () within the inner space ().

Detecting apparatus and associated imaging method

The inventive imaging method consists in generating a mechanical wave having shearing and compressional components in a viscoelastic medium and in determining the movement parameter of said viscoelastic medium at different points during the propagation of said mechanical wave. Said method comprises a correction stage when the movement parameter is processed for eliminating errors caused by the compressional component of the mechanical wave.

Imaging method and device using shear waves

A Method for measuring heart contractility of a patient, in which a mechanical shear wave is propagated through the heart and observation of the propagation leads to determine a shear wave propagation parameter representative of the elasticity of the heart is disclosed. The value of the propagation parameter at the end of a systole is sampled, which leads to a parameter representative of the end systolic elastance.

Method and apparatus for measuring heart contractility

The invention relates to a method for measuring a mean visco-elasticity value for a soft material. The method uses a single probe carrying at least one transducer and includes the steps of: (a) inducing, in a constraint zone, at least one burst of mechanical vibrations in order to generate internal shear waves in the tissue propagating from the constraint zone into the tissue, (b1) measuring, with the transducer, the transient tissue displacements in at least one first measurement zone in the tissue, and wherein the first measurement zone is located away from the constraint zone, and (c) estimating a mean visco-elasticity of the region of the tissue situated between the constraint zone and the first measurement zone from the measured transient tissue displacements of the tissue in the first measurement zone.

Method and device for measuring a mean value of visco-elasticity of a region of interest

The invention concerns a method for optimizing the focusing of waves in a zone of interest of a medium, with the waves being emitted by a network of sources to the medium through an aberration-inducing element that introduces an initially indeterminate phase shift. The method according to the invention proposes to use M&#x2212;1 successive modifications of the emitted wave, each giving rise to a perturbation. According to the invention, the M perturbations are measured in the zone of interest at each modification of the phase and/or amplitude distributions, and these measurements are used to deduce optimal focusing characteristics to maximize the perturbation induced in the zone of interest.

Method for optimising the focussing of waves through an aberration-inducing element

The invention relates to a method of generating a predetermined objective wave field in a medium using a first network of transducers T-Tn). The inventive method consists in first using each transducer i of the first network to emit an approximation of the signal ei(t). Subsequently, each transducer of a second network of transducers (T'-T&#x2032;m) is used to emit an error signal corresponding to the time reversal of the difference between the signals captured from said first emission and objective signals. Finally, approximation ei(t) is corrected by subtracting the time reversal of the signal captured by each transducer i using the error signal.

Method of generating a predetermined wave field

A non-invasive method of obtaining a target soundwave field in the brain by means of an array of transducers positioned outside the skull, the method comprising a training stage during which, on the basis of a three-dimensional image giving the porosity of the skull at all points, digital simulation is used to determine individual sound signals to be emitted by the transducers in order to obtain the target soundwave field in the brain. After the training stage, the array of transducers is used to locate the position of the array of transducers relative to the skull by echography and to ensure that the array of transducers is accurately positioned.

Non-invasive method of obtaining a pre-determined acoustic wave field in an essentially uniform medium which is concealed by a bone barrier, imaging method and device for carrying out said methods

The invention concerns a method for focusing acoustic waves useful for obtaining an image of a field to be observed in a dissipative heterogeneous medium () around which acoustic transducers (T&#x2013;Tn, T'&#x2013;T&#x2032;m) forming an imaging network and a target network. The method consists in following a training step during which pulse responses from the medium are measured between each transducer (Ti) of the imaging network () and several transducers (Tj) of the target network (); deducing therefrom reference signals to be emitted by the transducers of the imaging network to produce a focused acoustic pulse in each transducer of the target network, then cumulatively, in determining reference signals to be emitted to focus an acoustic pulse on predetermined points in the medium. Said reference signals are stored and used subsequently to generate an acoustic image of the medium.

Growing community of inventors

Bagneux, France

Mickaël Tanter