LUFT: A low-frequency ultrasound tomography system designed for lung imaging

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging
• Acoustics

Background:

• Conventional MHz ultrasound imaging faces artifacts and poor penetration in lung tissue.
• High-frequency waves reflect off the pleura, limiting diagnostic capabilities.
• B-mode ultrasound requires skilled technicians and is difficult to interpret.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a low-frequency tomographic ultrasound system for improved pulmonary imaging.
• To overcome the limitations of conventional ultrasound in lung tissue penetration.
• To develop a system capable of detecting targets within lung tissue.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a Verasonics Vantage 64 system with novel low-frequency Tonpilz transducers in a circular array.
• Implemented a time-of-flight (TOF) tomographic reconstruction algorithm with refraction correction.
• Collected data on ballistic gel phantoms with targets of varying sound speeds.

Main Results:

• The low-frequency ultrasound tomography system successfully detected targets in experimental phantoms.
• The system demonstrated the ability to resolve multiple targets.
• Distinguished between targets of high and low sound speed compared to the background.

Conclusions:

• Low-frequency ultrasound tomography is a viable method for penetrating lung tissue.
• This system offers potential for enhanced pulmonary imaging and diagnostics.
• Further development could lead to improved non-invasive lung assessments.