US 2017/0360406 A1Published application

Microbubble signal based temporal-bone thickness compensation for sonothrombolysis

AssigneeKoninklijke Philips N.V.

InventorsRalf Seip, William Tao Shi

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Abstract

An ultrasonic intracranial sonothrombolysis pressure amplitude is pre-quantified by using an ultrasound-scanner control unit (110) having an increasing and/or decreasing mode and designed for: with respect to a current mode, interrogating a blockage site iteratively so as to progressively and respectively increase or decrease a pressure amplitude of ultrasound being emitted to the site at which bubbles (144) for oscillating that is caused by the emitted ultrasound are present; iteration to iteration, deriving, from echoes of the emitted ultrasound, a magnitude of an energy of a signal; and automatically identifying, for the quantifying, an iteration that, in comparison with a just-previous iteration, fails to increase the magnitude. The interrogating may span a region that contains or goes through: the obstruction; another part of the blood vessel; and bubble circulation within a neighboring vessel and a neighboring capillary (136). The deriving can be based on an ultraharmonic signal, with band-pass filtering being utilized to extract the ultraharmonic signal from returning signals differenced to remove stationary content.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An apparatus configured for, with respect to obstructed flow in a lumen within a brain, bubbles being located at a site of the obstruction, quantifying a pressure amplitude of ultrasound to be applied to, via oscillation of said bubbles, alleviate said obstructed flow, said apparatus comprising:

an ultrasound-scanner control unit configured with at least one of an increasing mode and a decreasing mode and for:
with respect to a current mode from among said at least one, interrogating said site iteratively so as to progressively and respectively increase or decrease a pressure amplitude of ultrasound being emitted to said site at which bubbles for oscillating that is caused by the emitted ultrasound are present;
iteration to iteration, deriving, from echoes of said emitted ultrasound, a magnitude of an energy of a signal;
and
automatically identifying, for said quantifying, an iteration, from among the iterations, that, in comparison with a just-previous iteration from among said iterations, fails to increase said magnitude,
wherein said pressure amplitude of ultrasound being emitted is an excitation amplitude, said control unit being further configured for, upon said identifying, fine-tuning by:
a) continuing with the iterative interrogating and identifying, using, as a starting point, said excitation amplitude of said just-previous iteration and correspondingly, in accordance with said current mode, continuing to increase or decrease said excitation amplitude progressively with a corresponding increase or decrease that is smaller than used prior to said identifying;
b) continuing with the iterative interrogating and identifying, using, as a starting point, said excitation amplitude of the current iteration and switching over from progressively increasing to progressively decreasing said excitation amplitude, or vice versa, with a corresponding increase or decrease that is smaller than used prior to said identifying;
or c) selectively a) or b).

6 more elements

an ultrasound-scanner control unit configured with at least one of an increasing mode and a decreasing mode and for:
with respect to a current mode from among said at least one, interrogating said site iteratively so as to progressively and respectively increase or decrease a pressure amplitude of ultrasound being emitted to said site at which bubbles for oscillating that is caused by the emitted ultrasound are present;
iteration to iteration, deriving, from echoes of said emitted ultrasound, a magnitude of an energy of a signal, and
automatically identifying, for said quantifying, an iteration, from among the iterations, that, in comparison with a just-previous iteration from among said iterations, fails to increase said magnitude,
said control unit being further configured for:
preliminarily performing said interrogating, said deriving, and said identifying, all with respect to a preliminary site within a flow phantom of a phantom vessel through which bubbles in a liquid 24suspension flow;
from a known total attenuation along a path from an ultrasound source to said preliminary site and a known preliminary ultrasound pressure amplitude from said source, computing a local ultrasound pressure at said site;
and
based on said identifying with respect to said site of said obstruction, calculating, based on said local ultrasound pressure already computed and a currently applied pressure, a total attenuation in a path to said obstruction.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/534,092Filed 1 Dec 2015
Priority: 11 Dec 2014
Published: 21 Dec 2017
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification13 codes

A61B 8/481
Diagnostic techniques: involving the use of contrast agents, e.g. microbubbles introduced into the bloodstream
A61B 8/0808
Clinical applications: for diagnosis of the brain
A61B 8/085
Involving detecting or locating foreign bodies or organic structures: for locating body or organic structures, e.g. tumours, calculi, blood…
A61B 8/54
Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves: control of the diagnostic device