Transcranial Neuromodulation Array With Imaging Aperture for Simultaneous Multifocus Stimulation in Nonhuman...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Simultaneous activation of multiple brain regions underlies complex behaviors.
• Multifocus transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) neuromodulation requires advanced transducer design for precise targeting.
• Existing methods face challenges in simultaneously stimulating diverse brain regions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and simulate a novel ultrasound neuromodulation array for simultaneous multifocus brain stimulation in nonhuman primates.
• To incorporate an integrated imaging aperture for enhanced functional imaging.
• To optimize the array for improved targeting accuracy and signal gain.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 3-D Fullwave simulations for array design and performance evaluation.
• Developed a spherical array with 128 elements in a helical pattern around a central imaging aperture.
• Employed element rotation and optimized placement based on phase aberration simulations for improved focusing.

Main Results:

• The designed array can simultaneously focus on multiple brain targets, including the somatosensory cortex and thalamus.
• Optimized array placement significantly improved focusing gain (e.g., to the somatosensory cortex from 4.38 to 5.19).
• Simulations demonstrated potential for targeting 28 additional brain regions, with considerations for shallow targets.

Conclusions:

• The developed spherical ultrasound array design enables simultaneous multifocus neuromodulation and functional imaging.
• The design is adaptable to individual skull morphologies and specific target locations via 3-D printing and electronic correction.
• This technology offers a promising tool for advancing nonhuman primate brain research and understanding neural circuits.