Super-resolution Ultrasound Imaging
Kirsten Christensen-Jeffries, Olivier Couture, Paul A Dayton, Yonina C Eldar, Kullervo Hynynen, Fabian Kiessling, Meaghan O'Reilly, Gianmarco F Pinton, Georg Schmitz, Meng-Xing Tang, Mickael Tanter, Ruud J G van Sloun, Kirsten Christensen-Jeffries, Olivier Couture, Paul A Dayton, Yonina C Eldar, Kullervo Hynynen, Fabian Kiessling, Meaghan O'Reilly, Gianmarco F Pinton, Georg Schmitz, Meng-Xing Tang, Mickael Tanter, Ruud J G van Sloun
Abstract
The majority of exchanges of oxygen and nutrients are performed around vessels smaller than 100 μm, allowing cells to thrive everywhere in the body. Pathologies such as cancer, diabetes and arteriosclerosis can profoundly alter the microvasculature. Unfortunately, medical imaging modalities only provide indirect observation at this scale. Inspired by optical microscopy, ultrasound localization microscopy has bypassed the classic compromise between penetration and resolution in ultrasonic imaging. By localization of individual injected microbubbles and tracking of their displacement with a subwavelength resolution, vascular and velocity maps can be produced at the scale of the micrometer. Super-resolution ultrasound has also been performed through signal fluctuations with the same type of contrast agents, or through switching on and off nano-sized phase-change contrast agents. These techniques are now being applied pre-clinically and clinically for imaging of the microvasculature of the brain, kidney, skin, tumors and lymph nodes.
Keywords: Brain; Contrast agents; Localization; Microbubbles; Microscopy; Microvessels; Super-resolution; Tumor; Ultrasound.
Conflict of interest statement
Declaration of Competing Interest OC and MT declare being co-inventors on a super-resolution patent (PCT FR2011/052810). MT is a co-founder and shareholder of Iconeus company for ultrasound neuro-imaging. PAD declares co-inventorship on patents and applications for super-resolution techniques, dual-frequency imaging (US9,532,769), and phase change nanodroplets (US9,427,410) and is a co-founder of SonoVol, Inc., and Triangle Biotechnology, Inc., which have licensed some of these patents. KH and MAO declare being co-inventors on a super-resolution patent (PCT/US2014/036567).
Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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Source: PubMed