Rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of ultrasonic brain stimulation, and discloses a rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system which comprises an arc-shaped transducer and a collimator, the inner diameter of the collimator is larger than the outer diameter of the transducer, the collimator is arranged at the front end of the transducer in a sleeving mode, and the collimator is filled with an ultrasonic coupling agent; ultrasonic energy emitted by the ultrasonic transducer from the cambered surface passes through the collimator and is focused on a target area of the brain of the rat. The large-radian cambered surface transducer is designed, so that the ultrasonic energy radiation area is small, and the resolution of an ultrasonic stimulation area is improved; collimators with different depths are designed and placed between the ultrasonic transducer and the head skin of the rat, and the distance from the transducer to the head of the rat is adjusted, so that the brain areas with different depths of the rat are adjusted through ultrasonic stimulation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of ultrasonic brain stimulation, and in particular to a rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system. Background Art

[0002] With the evolution of the application field and action position of ultrasonic transducers, different requirements are put forward for the structure of the transducer itself, one of which is a large spherical cap or hemispherical ultrasonic transducer. This transducer is usually used in the field of ultrasonic therapy, which requires a large amount of acoustic energy to be generated in the transducer focal area to act on the treatment area, and the size of the focal point is small enough.

[0003] The difficulty faced by ultrasonic brain regulation of mice and rats is that the brain tissue of mice and rats is very small, and the functional areas are even smaller. Only by accurately focusing on the brain functional areas of mice and rats can we more accurately judge the reactions and functional effects of various brain areas. Summary of the invention

[0004] Based on this, it is necessary to address the technical problem that the ultrasonic transducer of the prior art has a poor effect in focusing on the brain functional areas of mice and rats, and propose a rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system, the system comprising: an arc-shaped transducer and a collimator, wherein the inner diameter of the collimator is larger than the outer diameter of the transducer, the collimator is sleeved at the front end of the transducer, and the collimator is filled with an ultrasonic coupling agent;

[0005] The ultrasonic energy emitted from the curved surface of the ultrasonic transducer is focused on the target area of ​​the rat's brain through the collimator.

[0006] In one embodiment, the higher the frequency of the ultrasonic transducer, the smaller the focal range, and the lower the frequency, the larger the focal range; the larger the curvature of the curved surface of the ultrasonic transducer, the smaller the focal range formed, and the smaller the curvature of the curved surface, the larger the focal range formed.

[0007] In one embodiment, the frequency of the transducer is 2 MHz.

[0008] In one embodiment, the opening diameter of the transducer is 12 mm.

[0009] In one embodiment, the arc angle of the curved surface of the transducer is 60 degrees.

[0010] In one embodiment, the focal zone of the ultrasonic energy of the transducer is in the shape of an ellipsoid with a size of approximately 0.6 mm×0.6 mm×3.6 mm, and the distance from the center of the focal zone to the plane where the opening of the transducer is located is 10 mm.

[0011] In one embodiment, the rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system includes a plurality of collimators of different heights.

[0012] The rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system proposed by the present invention includes an arc-shaped transducer and a collimator, wherein the inner diameter of the collimator is larger than the outer diameter of the transducer, the collimator is sleeved on the front end of the transducer, and the collimator is filled with an ultrasonic coupling agent; the ultrasonic energy emitted from the arc surface of the ultrasonic transducer passes through the collimator and is focused on the target area of ​​the rat's brain. The present invention adopts a large-arc arc transducer to reduce the radiation area of ​​the ultrasonic energy and improve the resolution of the ultrasonic stimulation area; and the collimators of different depths are designed and placed between the ultrasonic transducer and the skin of the rat's head, and the distance from the transducer to the head of the mouse and rat is adjusted, so as to adjust the ultrasonic stimulation of the brain area of ​​the rat at different depths. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0014] in:

[0015] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system in one embodiment;

[0016] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the transducer ultrasonic energy focusing area of ​​a rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system in one embodiment;

[0017] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of ultrasonic stimulation of a rat in a rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system according to an embodiment;

[0018] Figure 4 The focused ultrasound transducer of the ultrasonic brain stimulation system for rats in one embodiment;

[0019] Figure 5 The ultrasonic brain stimulation system for rats in one embodiment is a collimator of different depths;

[0020] Figure 6 This is a physical diagram of the combination of collimators and transducers at different depths in a rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system in one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by technicians in the technical field of the present application; the terms used in the specification of the application herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present application; the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof in the specification and claims of the present application and the above-mentioned drawings are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application or the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order.

[0022] Reference to "embodiments" herein means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of the phrase in various locations in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It is explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0023] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0024] The rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system provided by the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: Figure 1 As shown, the rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system comprises: an arc-shaped transducer and a collimator, wherein the inner diameter of the collimator is larger than the outer diameter of the transducer, the collimator is sleeved at the front end of the transducer, and the collimator is filled with an ultrasonic coupling agent;

[0025] The ultrasonic energy emitted from the curved surface of the ultrasonic transducer is focused on the target area of ​​the rat's brain through the collimator.

[0026] In this embodiment, in order to significantly improve the accuracy and resolution of the ultrasound stimulation technology, a curved transducer with a large curvature is used. This design cleverly utilizes the curvature characteristics and effectively reduces the radiation area of ​​the ultrasound energy, so that the energy can be more accurately focused on the target area, achieving a significant improvement in the resolution of the ultrasound stimulation area. Compared with traditional flat or smaller curvature transducers, this large curvature curved surface design can more effectively control the propagation direction and range of ultrasound waves, reduce energy dispersion, and ensure the concentration and efficiency of the stimulation effect.

[0027] In addition, a variety of collimators with different depths were designed. These collimators were cleverly placed between the ultrasound transducer and the skin of the rat's head, playing a crucial regulatory role. By adjusting the position and type of the collimator, the distance between the transducer and the rat's head can be precisely controlled, thereby achieving precise regulation of the depth of ultrasound stimulation. This design enables targeted stimulation of different depth areas of the rat's brain, whether it is the superficial cortical area or the deep neural structure, to achieve the ideal stimulation effect through flexible adjustment.

[0028] This ultrasound stimulation system, which combines an advanced curved transducer with an adjustable depth collimator, not only greatly improves the flexibility and precision of experiments, but also provides more powerful and sophisticated tools for neuroscience research, disease treatment, and drug development. By precisely controlling the depth and range of ultrasound stimulation, scientists can explore the functional mechanisms of the brain more deeply, opening up new ways to understand the complex operation of the nervous system and develop new treatments.

[0029] Specifically, the present invention places a collimator between the transducer and the rat's head, and fills the collimator with an ultrasonic coupling agent, so that the ultrasonic energy emitted by the ultrasonic transducer can be transmitted to the rat's brain through the ultrasonic coupling agent. The inner diameter of the collimator is larger than the outer diameter of the ultrasonic transducer, and collimators of different heights are placed on the front end of the transducer. The collimators of different heights and the angles at which the transducer is placed are used to adjust the regional position of the ultrasonic transducer energy focus in the brain, thereby achieving the effect of accurately adjusting the position of the rat's brain for ultrasonic stimulation.

[0030] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the transducer's ultrasonic energy focusing area. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of ultrasound stimulation in rats. Figure 4 It is a focused ultrasound transducer. Figure 5 These are the actual collimators of different depths. Figure 6 This is a physical picture of the combination of collimators and transducers at different depths.

[0031] In one embodiment, the higher the frequency of the ultrasonic transducer, the smaller the focal range, and the lower the frequency, the larger the focal range; the larger the curvature of the curved surface of the ultrasonic transducer, the smaller the focal range formed, and the smaller the curvature of the curved surface, the larger the focal range formed.

[0032] In one embodiment, the frequency of the transducer is 2 MHz.

[0033] In one embodiment, the opening diameter of the transducer is 12 mm.

[0034] In one embodiment, the arc angle of the curved surface of the transducer is 60 degrees.

[0035] In one embodiment, the focal zone of the ultrasonic energy of the transducer is in the shape of an ellipsoid with a size of approximately 0.6 mm×0.6 mm×3.6 mm, and the distance from the center of the focal zone to the plane where the opening of the transducer is located is 10 mm.

[0036] In one embodiment, the rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system includes a plurality of collimators of different heights.

[0037] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional units and modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be distributed and completed by different functional units and modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional units or modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0038] The embodiments described above are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments may still be modified, or some of the technical features may be replaced by equivalents. Such modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and should all be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system, characterized in that: The rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system comprises: an arc-shaped transducer and a collimator, wherein the inner diameter of the collimator is larger than the outer diameter of the transducer, the collimator is sleeved at the front end of the transducer, and the collimator is filled with an ultrasonic coupling agent; The ultrasonic energy emitted from the curved surface of the ultrasonic transducer is focused on the target area of ​​the rat's brain through the collimator.

2. The rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The higher the frequency of the ultrasonic transducer, the smaller the focal area, and the lower the frequency, the larger the focal area; the larger the curvature of the curved surface of the ultrasonic transducer, the smaller the focal area formed, and the smaller the curvature of the curved surface, the larger the focal area formed.

3. The rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The frequency of the transducer is 2 MHz.

4. The rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The opening diameter of the transducer is 12 mm.

5. The rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The arc angle of the curved surface of the transducer is 60 degrees.

6. The rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The focal zone of the ultrasonic energy of the transducer is in the shape of an ellipsoid with a size of about 0.6 mm×0.6 mm×3.6 mm, and the distance from the center of the focal zone to the plane where the opening of the transducer is located is 10 mm.

7. The rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The rat ultrasonic brain stimulation system includes a plurality of collimators with different heights.

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