Siemens Medical Solutions Usa, Inc.

University of Cincinnati

Verathon Inc.

Nikolas Ivancevich

Liexiang Fan

T Douglas Mast

Christy Holland

Seungsoo Kim

Kevin J Haworth

Kathryn Elizabeth Hitchcock

Fuxing Yang

Joon Hwan Choi

David P Duncan

Saurabh Datta

Xiaozheng Zeng

Monali Padwal

Nasser Saber

Kevin Haworth

Christy K Holland

A system may include an ultrasound probe and a controller unit configured to aim the ultrasound probe to transabdominally image a patient's prostate and obtain a transabdominal image of the patient's prostate using the aimed ultrasound probe. The controller unit may be further configured to perform a segmentation process on the obtained transabdominal image of the patient's prostate using a trained machine learning model to identify a boundary of the prostate in the transabdominal image of the patient's prostate.

Automated prostate analysis system

Shear waves are detected with ultrasound. The detection of the shear wave is constrained using prior measurements in a more controlled environment (e.g., less noise). For example, shear waves measured in a phantom are used to constrain the detection of shear waves in a patient to avoid false positive detections.

Shear wave detection in medical ultrasound imaging

Methods and systems for passively detecting stable cavitation and enhancing stable cavitation during sonothrombolysis are provided. The method of passively detecting stable cavitation includes providing a determined level of ultrasonic energy and detecting a scattered level of ultrasonic energy. The system for inducing and passively detecting stable cavitation includes a dual-element annular transducer array configured to provide a fundamental ultrasonic frequency and to detect an ultrasonic frequency that is a derivative of the fundamental frequency. The method of enhancing stable cavitation includes administering a nucleating agent and a thrombolytic agent to a treatment zone, providing a determined level of ultrasonic energy, and detecting a scattered level of ultrasonic energy.

Ultrasound-mediated inducement, detection, and enhancement of stable cavitation

Methods and systems for inducing and passively detecting stable cavitation and/or inertial cavitation for targeted drug delivery across a biological membrane are disclosed. Such methods include administering vesicles having a nucleating agent and a therapeutic drug to a vascular system of a patient, and providing an active interval of ultrasonic exposure substantially throughout a targeted treatment zone. The ultrasonic exposure is produced by a source transducer at a specified fundamental frequency, amplitude, duty cycle, and duration. The methods also include detecting a scattered ultrasonic wave, where the scattered ultrasonic wave is received by a detection transducer. Detection of the scattered ultrasonic wave is indicative of stable and/or inertial cavitation. The ultrasonic exposure is provided intermittently in the active intervals separated by rest periods, and substantially less ultrasonic exposure is provided during the rest period than during the active interval.

Methods of enhancing delivery of drugs using ultrasonic waves and systems for performing the same

Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) scanning uses a swept focus in transmit. Using a changing delay or phase profile across the array during the generation of the ARFI pulse, a time varying focus is provided for the ARFI beam. This time varying focus may be used to extend the focus in depth, azimuth, and/or elevation. Less repetition may be needed to measure tissue characteristics from displacements due to the multi or continuous change in foci within a given ARFI transmit beam.

Swept focus for acoustic radiation force impulse

In ARFI imaging, a cost function is used to identify a time of displacement that best or sufficiently indicates the desired information. For example, the displacements associated with a combination of contrast and signal-to-noise ratio are identified. The time at which the desired displacements occur may be other than the time of the maximum. Since the time is common to displacements for one or more scan lines, the displacement image may be assembled line-by-line or by groups of lines.

Ultrasound ARFI displacement imaging using an adaptive time instance

Growing community of inventors

Seattle, WA, United States of America

Nikolas Ivancevich