MR-compatible Focused Ultrasound for Measuring Mechanical Properties of Deep Brain Tissue at High Frequencies
Abstract
MR-compatible Focused Ultrasound for Measuring Mechanical Properties of Deep Brain Tissue at High FrequenciesTraumatic brain injury (TBI) has emerged as one of the most important medical problems related to military deployment. Computer simulations offer enormou"s potential for the study of TBI; however, to accurately model TBI, the viscoelastic properties of brain tissue during rapid tissue"" deformation are required. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) allows us to estimateproperties of brain tissue in vivo, non-invas""ively with high accuracy and spatial resolution. However, all conventional MRE techniques rely on external actuators to generate vib"rations that propagate through the skull to the brain. Strong attenuation at the skull-brain interface and within the brain itself greatly limits the penetration depth of the externally generated high frequencyvibrations.The objective of this project is to devel"op an MR-compatible, preclinical, focused ultrasound (FUS) system to be integrated with an existing small-animal MR scanner. The int"egrated MR-FUS system will be used to develop an innovative MR harmonic ultrasound-induced motion (MRHUM) imaging technique for deep brain elasticity imaging at high frequencies.The proposed system will be composed of both hardware and software components. Hardwa"reincludes a FUS transducer, an electronic driving system for the transducer, a 3D positioning system for the transducer, a deliver""y table, and quality assurance phantoms. The software will consist of four modules: transducer homing, quality assurance, ROI select""ion, and MR-HUM imaging. This proposed system will enhance our current research on the mechanical properties of brain tissue, suppor""ted by ongoing ONR grants (N00014-15-C-5160 and N00173-15-P-6401) to the co- PI, Dr. Philip Bayly. Moreover, this instrumentation wi""ll help the PI, Dr. Hong Chen, to establish new research capabilities to investigate micro-cavitation as a potential mechanism for T""BI. It willalso enhance our ability to educate undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoralresearch associates at W""ashington University, in imaging and injury biomechanics, and preparethem for research careers in these areas.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 05, 2017
- Source ID
- N000141712301
Entities
People
- Hong Chen
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- Washington University in St. Louis