Pre-Treatment Ultrasound Focus Verification With Microbubbles
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge of confirming the focus location of ultrasound treatment in brain tissue is exacerbated by the human skull's thickness and the difficulty in accurately determining the speed of sound in a live human patient, making it hard to use ultrasound imaging effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method and system using a plurality of transmit and receive transducers to transmit and receive pre-treatment ultrasound energy, determine receive focus profiles, and analyze return signals to confirm the treatment focus location, which includes injecting microbubbles and filtering signals to extract harmonics for precise focus determination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If ultrasound imaging is used to confirm focus location, then visual confirmation of treatment focus can be obtained, but the thick skull and difficulty in determining speed of sound make it difficult to obtain accurate images through the skull
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces microbubbles as an intermediary substance injected into the bloodstream. These microbubbles serve as acoustic contrast agents that enhance the reflection and scattering of ultrasound waves, making it possible to visualize brain structures and confirm focus location through the skull barrier that normally blocks clear imaging
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the acoustic properties of the medium by introducing microbubbles, which alter the speed of sound and acoustic impedance in the brain tissue. This parameter change enables better ultrasound penetration and imaging through the skull by creating detectable acoustic variations that can be used to locate the treatment focus
2Reliability
If treatment ultrasound energy is delivered to open the blood brain barrier, then drug delivery to brain tissue is enabled, but the focus location must be precisely confirmed to ensure accurate treatment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where pre-treatment ultrasound imaging is performed to locate the focus, microbubbles are injected, and post-injection imaging is used to verify the focus location. This closed-loop feedback process ensures that the treatment is delivered at the correct location, confirming both the focus accuracy and the effectiveness of blood brain barrier opening
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary ultrasound imaging and microbubble injection before delivering the actual treatment energy. This preliminary action allows the system to map the acoustic properties, confirm focus location, and ensure proper setup before committing to the therapeutic ultrasound delivery that opens the blood brain barrier
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables reliable confirmation of ultrasound treatment focus location before administration, ensuring accurate opening of the blood-brain barrier and effective therapeutic treatments.
Implementation Method 1
Where the peak negative pressure (i.e. the maximum amplitude negative pressure) caused by the application of treatment ultrasound is greater than a threshold level in the presence of microbubbles, the blood brain barrier will open
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of receive transducers for receiving reflected ultrasound energy from the brain of the patient
Implementation Method 3
filtering signals to extract harmonics for precise focus determination
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems confirm the treatment focus location of ultrasound energy to be delivered to a patient from a plurality of transducers. The location of focus of treatment ultrasound may be confirmed prior to the start of ultrasound therapy. In some embodiments, ultrasound therapy may comprise delivering treatment ultrasound energy from the treatment ultrasound transducers through the skull to the brain of a patient. Methods for confirming the treatment ultrasound focus location comprise determining receive focus profiles ϕx,v<sub2>i </sub2>for particular candidate three-dimensional (3D) treatment focus locations and particular assumed ultrasound propagation velocity profiles; performing a pre-treatment (e.g. low-power) ultrasound transmission into the brain of the patient; receiving return signals; and determining the location of treatment focus based at least in part on the received return signals and the receive focus profiles ϕx,v<sub2>i</sub2>.