Designing an Accurate Benchtop Characterization Device: An Acoustic Measurement Platform for Localizing and Implementing Therapeutic Ultrasound Devices and Equipment (Amplitude)

Abstract

Focused ultrasound (FUS) is becoming widely researched for medical therapies due to its high penetration depth, spatial resolution, and affordability. Applications of FUS range from high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for the ablation of cancerous tumors to low intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) for the treatment of neurological conditions like essential tremors. A key step in developing these treatments and their corresponding FUS devices is characterizing the emitted ultrasound from the proposed transducer. However, a bottleneck exists at this verification and validation stage; current characterization techniques lack the robustness of reliably recording below a 5μm resolution. This level of accuracy is needed to adequately design devices which can target cells like astrocytes or other desired target tissues at this scale. Our Acoustic Measurement Platform for Localizing and Implementing Therapeutic Ultrasound Devices and Equipment (AMPLITUDE) is a solution which enables engineers, scientists, and clinicians to confidently characterize their equipment in a benchtop setting. It achieves this resolution by utilizing an all-in-one water conditioning unit, linear stepper motors with a theoretical step size of 1 μm and a 1% standard deviation on repetitive experiments, as well as signal processing techniques. This system can be used throughout the product timeline including prototyping, verifying efficacy, FDA testing, and routine check-ups during clinical use.

Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation of Human <em>In Vitro</em> Neural Cultures in Multi-Well Microelectrode Arrays

“…By modulating the main factors within the hypothesized signaling pathway, researchers can identify the contributions of each factor in controlled environments and, ultimately, shed light on the complex interactions at play. Electrical stimulation22 is one of the most established techniques for neuromodulation, with a long history of successful applications in clinical and research settings. In contrast, FUS and optogenetics 23 are relatively new modalities that have gained attention in recent years.…”