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US 12,746,391 B2Granted
Systems for closed-loop ultrasound-imaging based control and related methods
AssigneeNorth Carolina State University
InventorsNitin Sharma, Qiang Zhang, Albert Dodson, Ashwin Iyer
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Abstract
Systems and methods for closed-loop ultrasound imaging-based control are described herein. An example system includes an ultrasound transducer, and a controller operably coupled to the ultrasound transducer. The controller includes a processor and memory, the memory having computer executable instructions stored thereon. The controller is configured to receive an ultrasound imaging signal associated with a subject's muscular activity from the ultrasound transducer; process the ultrasound imaging signal to obtain a feedback signal; and control a device interfacing with the subject based on the feedback signal.
Claims40
A system, comprising:
- an ultrasound transducer;
- and
- a controller comprising a processor and memory, the memory having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
- receive an ultrasound imaging signal associated with a subject's muscular activity from the ultrasound transducer;
- process the ultrasound imaging signal to determine one or more muscle state parameters comprising at least one of echogenicity, muscle pennation angle, muscle fascicle length, muscle thickness, muscle strength, and muscle fatigue;
- generate a feedback signal to suppress tremors based on the determined one or more muscle state parameters, and
- control a device interfacing with the subject based on the feedback signal.
4 more elements
A system, comprising:
- an ultrasound transducer;
- a plurality of kinematic sensors;
- a stimulation device comprising a stimulus generator and at least two electrodes, wherein the at least two electrodes are operably coupled to the stimulus generator;
- and
- a controller comprising a processor and memory, the memory having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
- receive an ultrasound imaging signal associated with a subject's muscular activity from the ultrasound transducer;
- process the ultrasound imaging signal to obtain a first feedback signal by determining one or more muscle state parameters comprising at least one of echogenicity, muscle pennation angle, muscle fascicle length, muscle thickness, muscle strength, and muscle fatigue;
- process respective kinematic sensor signals from the kinematic sensors to obtain a second feedback signal;
- and
- control the stimulation device to suppress tremors based on the first and second feedback signals.
7 more elements
A system, comprising:
- an ultrasound transducer;
- a sensor configured to measure a subject's muscular activity;
- a powered joint exoskeleton;
- and
- a controller comprising a processor and memory, the memory having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
- receive an ultrasound imaging signal associated with the subject's muscular activity from the ultrasound transducer;
- receive a sensor signal from the sensor;
- combine data from the ultrasound imaging signal and the sensor signal to create a fused signal;
- analyze the fused signal to determine one or more muscle state parameters comprising at least one of echogenicity, muscle pennation angle, muscle fascicle length, muscle thickness, muscle strength, and muscle fatigue;
- predict a joint torque based on the determined one or more muscle state parameters;
- and
- control a torque assistance of the powered joint exoskeleton to suppress tremors based on the predicted joint torque.
9 more elements
A system, comprising:
- an ultrasound transducer;
- a stimulation device comprising a stimulus generator and at least two electrodes, wherein the at least two electrodes are operably coupled to the stimulus generator;
- and
- a controller comprising a processor and memory, the memory having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
- receive an ultrasound imaging signal associated with a subject's muscular activity from the ultrasound transducer;
- process the ultrasound imaging signal to quantify the subject's muscular activity;
- and
- control the stimulation device based on based on the subject's quantified muscular activity to suppress a tremor, and wherein the tremor is detected by quantifying muscle contractility based, at least in part, on a tremor frequency measured via the at least two electrodes.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.