ERI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Acoustic Fields for Ultrasound-Based CNS Regeneration

ERI：用于基于超声的中枢神经系统再生的声场磁共振成像

• 批准号: 2138403
• 负责人: Steven Allen
• 金额: $ 19.89万
• 依托单位: Brigham Young University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-04-01 至 2024-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2138403&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ERI; Magnetic; Resonance; Imaging; Acoustic

Approximately 41 million people within the United States suffer disability. These disabilities place a large burden on individuals, their families, and society as a whole. Technologies that can induce neuron restoration and rehabilitation are a critical national health priority. However, restoration or rehabilitation in the central nervous system is particularly hard to accomplish because human neurons regenerate slowly or not at all and it is difficult to deliver helpful drugs through the blood brain barrier. Meanwhile, recently developing brain surgical technologies, called focused ultrasound, possess many characteristics of an ideal neural rehabilitation technology because focused ultrasound can induce changes in brain tissue at specific places and times without harming surrounding tissues and are thought to safely open the blood-brain barrier. Development of these technologies is slowed by the inability to non-destructively measure the ultrasound pressure field inside a living subject. This makes it hard to control which ultrasound-brain tissue effect one might induce during therapy. The goal of this project is to accelerate the development of ultrasound-based neural rehabilitation technology by building devices that can non-destructively measure ultrasound pressure fields in living subjects. When completed, the device will allow doctors and researchers to measure and control the ultrasound field and, thereby, the specific ultrasound-brain interaction induced during therapy.This proposal will design, prototype, and validate a novel ultrasound-encoding electromagnet that can be inserted into a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner and encode acoustic longitudinal displacement fields into MR images of living subjects. The displacement data can then be used to estimate acoustic parameters such as pressure and sound speed inside the subject. If successful, the new information provided by this electromagnet insert will enhance the scientific rigor of ongoing and future ultrasound neuromodulation therapy studies. The project will be conducted in the following three phases: 1) design, 2) prototype, and 3) validation. The design phase will use simulation software to evaluate two electromagnet designs against design criteria such as the encoding capability of the electromagnet at 2 cm distance, Lorentz forces exerted on the device, and heating during operation. During the prototyping phase, the device will be constructed and evaluated against the performance criteria predicted during the design phase. The effects of the device on MRI image quality will also be assessed. If the device meets established performance criteria, then, during the validation phase of the project, the electromagnet will be used to estimate acoustic pressure fields induced in a tissue-mimicking gel object. Upon completion of these three phases, this project will produce a novel device that can non-destructively measure acoustic pressure fields in water-based objects and can be readily applied to ultrasound-based nerve rehabilitation studies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

美国境内约有4100万人遭受残疾。这些残疾给个人，家人和整个社会带来很大的负担。可以诱导神经元恢复和康复的技术是重要的国家健康重点。但是，中枢神经系统中的恢复或康复尤其难以完成，因为人神经元会缓慢或根本无法再生，并且很难通过血液脑屏障提供有用的药物。同时，最近开发的脑外科手术技术（称为聚焦超声波）具有理想的神经康复技术的许多特征，因为聚焦超声可以在特定的地方和时间诱导脑组织的变化而不会损害周围组织，并且被认为可以安全地打开血脑屏障。这些技术的开发无法通过非破坏性测量生命受试者内部的超声压力场来放缓。这使得很难控制一种在治疗过程中可能诱导的超声波组织效应。该项目的目的是通过构建可以非破坏性测量生活受试者超声压力场的设备来加速基于超声的神经康复技术的发展。 When completed, the device will allow doctors and researchers to measure and control the ultrasound field and, thereby, the specific ultrasound-brain interaction induced during therapy.This proposal will design, prototype, and validate a novel ultrasound-encoding electromagnet that can be inserted into a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner and encode acoustic longitudinal displacement fields into MR images of living subjects.然后，位移数据可用于估计声学参数，例如受试者内部的压力和音速。如果成功，该电磁插入物提供的新信息将增强正在进行和未来的超声神经调节疗法研究的科学严谨性。该项目将在以下三个阶段进行：1）设计，2）原型和3）验证。设计阶段将使用仿真软件来评估两种电磁标准，以根据设计标准，例如在2 cm距离处的电磁体的编码能力，在设备上施加的Lorentz力量以及在操作过程中加热。在原型制定阶段，将根据设计阶段预测的性能标准构建和评估该设备。该设备对MRI图像质量的影响也将进行评估。如果设备符合已建立的性能标准，则在项目的验证阶段，将使用电磁体估计在模拟组织中诱导的凝胶对象中诱导的声压场。这三个阶段完成后，该项目将生产出一种新型设备，可以非破坏性地测量水基物体中的声压场，并且可以很容易地应用于超声基于超声的神经康复研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过评估该基金会的知识分子优点和广泛的影响来评估NSF的法定任务。