A method for delineation of bone surfaces in photoacoustic computed tomography of the finger

Photoacoustic imaging of interphalangeal peripheral joints is of interest in the context of using the synovial membrane as a surrogate marker of rheumatoid arthritis. Previous work has shown that ultrasound produced by absorption of light at the epidermis reflects on the bone surfaces within the finger. When the reflected signals are backprojected in the region of interest, artifacts are produced, confounding interpretation of the images. In this work, we present an approach where the photoacoustic signals known to originate from the epidermis, are treated as virtual ultrasound transmitters, and a separate reconstruction is performed as in ultrasound reflection imaging. This allows us to identify the bone surfaces. Further, the identification of the joint space is important as this provides a landmark to localize a region-of-interest in seeking the inflamed synovial membrane. The ability to delineate bone surfaces allows us not only to identify the artifacts, but also to identify the interphalangeal joint space without recourse to new US hardware or a new measurement. We test the approach on phantoms and on a healthy human finger

Chinese Expert Consensus on Critical Care Ultrasound Applications at COVID-19 Pandemic

The spread of new coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) follows a different pattern than previous respiratory viruses, posing a serious public health risk worldwide. World Health Organization (WHO) named the disease as COVID-19 and declared it a pandemic. COVID-19 is characterized by highly contagious nature, rapid transmission, swift clinical course, profound worldwide impact, and high mortality among critically ill patients. Chest X-ray, computerized tomography (CT), and ultrasound are commonly used imaging modalities. Among them, ultrasound, due to its portability and non-invasiveness, can be easily moved to the bedside for examination at any time. In addition, with use of 4G or 5G networks, remote ultrasound consultation can also be performed, which allows ultrasound to be used in isolated medial areas. Besides, the contact surface of ultrasound probe with patients is small and easy to be disinfected. Therefore, ultrasound has gotten lots of positive feedbacks from the frontline healthcare workers, and it has played an indispensable role in the course of COVID-19 diagnosis and follow up

Sound radiation of 3 MHz driven gas bubbles

The sound radiation of 3 MHz acoustically driven air bubbles in liquid is analysed with respect to possible applications in second harmonic ultrasound diagnostics devices, which have recently come into clinical use. In the forcing pressure amplitude P_a = 1-10 atm and ambient radius R_0 = 0.5-5 \mu m parameter domain a narrow regime around the resonance radius R_0 \sim 1-1.5 \mu m and relatively modest P_a \sim 2-2.5 atm is identified in which optimal sound yield in the second harmonic is achieved while maintaining spherical stability of the bubble. For smaller P_a and larger R_0 hardly any sound is radiated; for larger P_a bubbles become unstable towards non-spherical shape oscillations of their surface. The computation of these instabilities is essential for the evaluation of the optimal parameter regime. A region of slightly smaller R_0 and P_a \sim 1-3 atm is best suited to achieve large ratios of the second harmonic to the fundamental intensity. Spherical stability is guaranteed in the suggested regimes for liquids with an enhanced viscosity compared to water, such as blood.Comment: 19 pages, 10 low resolution ps-figures; higher resolution figures can be retrieved from http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~hilgenfe/hires.htm

Radioactive Needlework, Reconstruction of needle-positions in radiation treatment

Nucletron presented a medical problem to the SWI 2006: how to find needles used for cancer treatment in a prostate? More concretely: how to find the positions of these needles from distorted images from an ultrasound probe? Section 1 explains the background of this problem. In Section 2 we deal with physical explanations for the distortions. In Section 3 we give a brief overview of medical imaging and explain which techniques we used to clean up the images