ScienceDaily: Ultrasound News

Micromachining: Inclinations sounded out

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:49:49 EDT

A novel type of tilt sensor may extend the capabilities of ultrasonic devices already used in a range of applications.

Photoacoustics spares healthy lymph nodes in patients with metastasized cancer

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:46:46 EDT

If a tumor has spread through the lymph nodes, the decision is often taken to exercise caution and remove extra tissue, to prevent it from spreading further. This often involves the removal of healthy lymph nodes. Photoacoustic detection allows surgeons to see which nodes are affected and which are not, while the operation is in progress. This could cut the number of unnecessary complications following surgery, while still ensuring that all affected tissue is removed.

Stem cells entering heart can be tracked with nano-hitchhikers

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:27:27 EDT

The promise of repairing damaged hearts through regenerative medicine -- infusing stem cells into the heart in the hope that these cells will replace worn out or damaged tissue -- has yet to meet with clinical success. But a highly sensitive visualization technique may help speed that promise's realization.

Improved ultrasound imaging coming soon

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:12:12 EST

Ultrasound technology could soon experience a significant upgrade that would enable it to produce high-quality, high-resolution images, thanks to the development of a new key material.

Microbubbles improve myocardial remodelling after infarction

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:46:46 EST

Scientists have successfully tested a method in mice allowing the morphological and functional sequelae of a myocardial infarction to be reduced. Tiny gas bubbles are made to oscillate within the heart via focused ultrasound -- this improves microcirculation and decreases the size of the scar tissue. The results show that the mice, following myocardial infarction, have improved cardiac output as a result of this method, as compared to untreated animals.

'Acoustic-assisted' magnetic information storage invented

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:18:18 EST

Electrical engineers have discovered a way to use high-frequency sound waves to enhance the magnetic storage of data, offering a new approach to improve the data storage capabilities of a multitude of electronic devices around the world.

Elastography: New cancer detection method right around the corner; Norway and France in front

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 09:46:46 EST

As the first countries in the world, Norway and France will be testing a completely new method for detecting cancer. This is done by measuring the elasticity of tumors. The method is called elastography. You may as well learn this new word right away; in a few years, elastography may be as common as X-rays.

PET/CT shows clear advantages over conventional staging for breast cancer patients

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:04:04 EST

New research shows that 18F-fludeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging offers significant prognostic stratification information at initial staging for patients with locally advanced breast cancer. When compared to conventional imaging, 18F-FDG PET/CT more accurately showed lesions in the chest, abdomen and bones in a single session, changing management for more than 50 percent of the patients in the study.

Super-fine sound beam could one day be an invisible scalpel

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 17:39:39 EST

A carbon-nanotube-coated lens that converts light to sound can focus high-pressure sound waves to finer points than ever before. The engineering researchers who developed the new therapeutic ultrasound approach say it could lead to an invisible knife for noninvasive surgery.

Ultrasound can now monitor the health of your car engine

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 11:23:23 EST

A system that uses ultrasound technology to look inside car engines could lead to more efficient engines -- and huge fuel savings for motorists.

Safer spinach? Scientist's technique dramatically reduces E. coli numbers

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 13:02:02 EST

Scientists have found a way to boost current industry capabilities when it comes to reducing the number of E. coli 0157:H7 cells that may live undetected on spinach leaves. By combining continuous ultrasound treatment with chlorine washing, they can reduce the total number of foodborne pathogenic bacteria by over 99.99 percent.

Sound bullets in water

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 10:45:45 EST

Sound waves are commonly used in applications ranging from ultrasound imaging to hyperthermia therapy, in which high temperatures are induced, for example, in tumors to destroy them. In 2010, researchers developed a nonlinear acoustic lens that can focus high-amplitude pressure pulses into compact “sound bullets.” In that initial work, the scientists demonstrated how sound bullets form in solids. Now, they have done themselves one better, creating a device that can form and control those bullets in water.

Zeroing in on the 'science of sound propagation' in burning buildings

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:39:39 EDT

An acoustic navigation system being developed by a team of researchers studying the science of sound propagation inside burning buildings may one day become a life-saving addition to firefighters’ arsenal of tools.

New technique for sorting live cells may expedite biomedical research

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 12:41:41 EDT

Researchers have developed a new technique that uses sound waves to rapidly separate selected collections of cells for use in biomedical research.

3-D medical scanner: New handheld imaging device to aid doctors on the 'diagnostic front lines'

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:00:00 EDT

Engineers have created a new imaging tool for primary care physicians: a handheld scanner that would enable them to image all the sites they commonly examine -- such as inner ears or the health of patients' retinas. The device relies on optical coherence tomography and could offer sooner and better diagnoses for common conditions such as diabetes.

Getting (drugs) under your skin: Using ultrasound waves, researchers boost skin's permeability to drugs

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 13:31:31 EDT

Using ultrasound waves, engineers have found a way to enhance the permeability of skin to drugs, making transdermal drug delivery more efficient.

Low cost design makes ultrasound imaging affordable to the world

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 20:39:39 EDT

An underwater sonar technology expert has invented the first ultra low-cost, portable ultrasound scanner that can be plugged into any computer with a USB port and could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and children around the world.

The power to heal at the tips of your fingers

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 08:37:37 EDT

The intricate properties of the fingertips have been mimicked and recreated using semiconductor devices in what researchers hope will lead to the development of advanced surgical gloves.

New metamaterials device focuses sound waves like a camera lens

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 09:57:57 EDT

Researchers have designed and computationally tested a type of humanmade metamaterial capable for the first time of manipulating a variety of acoustic waves with one simple device.

Preclinical studies use specialized ultrasound to detect presence of cancer

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 12:02:02 EDT

Vessel "bendiness" can indicate the presence and progression of cancer. This principle led scientists to a new method of using a high-resolution ultrasound to identify early tumors in preclinical studies. The method, based on vessel bendiness or "tortuosity," potentially offers an inexpensive, non-invasive and fast method to detect cancer that could someday help doctors identify cancers when tumors are less than a centimeter in size.

Acoustic tweezers capture and manipulate tiny creatures with ultrasound

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:55:55 EDT

Bioengineers and biochemists are using a miniaturized ultrasound device to capture and manipulate biological materials, such as the tiny roundworm, C. elegans.

Seeing inside tissue for no-cut surgeries: Researchers develop technique to focus light inside biological tissue

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 11:43:43 EDT

Imagine if doctors could perform surgery without ever having to cut through your skin. Or if they could diagnose cancer by seeing tumors inside the body with a procedure that is as simple as an ultrasound. Thanks to a new technique, all of that may be possible in the not-so-distant future.

Beating hearts are finally still with 4D PET image reconstruction

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:39:39 EDT

A development in 4D image reconstruction compensates for blurring caused by the beating of the heart, say researchers. The new method provides sharper-than-ever images of cardiac function to help pinpoint heart defects for better diagnoses and treatment.

Nowhere to hide: New device sees bacteria behind the eardrum

Tue, 29 May 2012 18:27:27 EDT

Doctors can now get a peek behind the eardrum to better diagnose and treat chronic ear infections, thanks to a new medical imaging device. The device could usher in a new suite of non-invasive, 3-D diagnostic imaging tools for primary-care physicians.

Acoustic diode, providing one-way transmission of sound, promises to improve ultrasound imaging

Tue, 08 May 2012 15:19:19 EDT

An acoustic diode, enabling the one-way transmission of sound waves, could dramatically improve the quality of medical ultrasound imaging and lead to better sound dampening materials. Such a device has now been created.

Screening for breast cancer without X-rays: Lasers and sound merge in promising diagnostic technique

Mon, 07 May 2012 14:13:13 EDT

In the first phase of clinical testing of a new imaging device, researchers in the Netherlands used photoacoustics rather than ionizing radiation to detect and visualize breast tumors. The team's preliminary results, which were conducted on 12 patients with diagnosed malignancies, have just been published.

Cancer treatment delivery: International Space Station's microgravity platform

Sat, 05 May 2012 18:30:30 EDT

Humanity is on the constant search for improvements in cancer treatments, and the International Space Station has provided a microgravity platform that has enabled advancements in the cancer treatment process.

Ultrasound idea: Prototype bioreactor evaluates engineered tissue while creating it

Thu, 03 May 2012 19:42:42 EDT

Researchers have developed a prototype bioreactor that both stimulates and evaluates tissue as it grows, mimicking natural processes while eliminating the need to stop periodically to cut up samples for analysis.

New tool enhances view of muscles

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:57:57 EST

New research is adding to the arsenal of increasingly sophisticated medical imaging tools with a new signal-processing method for viewing muscle activation details never seen before. A novel method using ultrasound imaging, 3-D motion-capture technology and proprietary data-processing software can scan and capture 3-D maps of the muscle structure in just 90 seconds. Previous methods took 15 minutes -- far too long to ask people to hold a muscle contraction.

Researchers' new recipe cooks up better tissue 'phantoms'

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:58:58 EST

The precise blending of tiny particles and multicolor dyes transforms gelatin into a realistic surrogate for human tissue. These tissue mimics, known as "phantoms," provide an accurate proving ground for new photoacoustic and ultrasonic imaging technologies.

Microfabrication breakthrough could set piezoelectric material applications in motion

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:39:39 EST

Integrating a complex, single-crystal material with "giant" piezoelectric properties onto silicon, engineers and physicists can fabricate low-voltage, near-nanoscale electromechanical devices that could lead to improvements in high-resolution 3-D imaging, signal processing, communications, energy harvesting, sensing, and actuators for nanopositioning devices, among others.

Gelatin-based nanoparticle treatment may be a more effective clot buster

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:23:23 EST

A targeted, nanoparticle gelatin-based clot-busting treatment dissolved significantly more blood clots than a currently used drug in an animal study of acute coronary syndrome.

Bats, dolphins, and mole rats inspire advances in ultrasound technology

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:22:22 EST

Researchers are using a unique method to interpret and manipulate the pings and echoes that bats, dolphins, and mole rats use for learning about their environments and capturing their prey. With this knowledge, he's created mathematical models that may significantly improve the accuracy of existing medical and navigational technologies.

Engineers use short ultrasound pulses to reach neurons through blood-brain barrier

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:13:13 EDT

Researchers have developed a new technique to reach neurons through the blood-brain barrier and deliver drugs safely and noninvasively. Up until now, scientists thought long ultrasound pulses, which can inflict collateral damage, were required. This new study shows that extremely short pulses of ultrasound waves can open the blood-brain barrier -- with the added advantages of safety and uniform molecular delivery -- and the molecule injected systemically could reach and highlight the targeted neurons noninvasively.

New hybrid imaging device shows promise in spotting hard-to-detect ovarian cancer

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:31:31 EDT

By combining three previously unrelated imaging tools into one new device, scientists have proposed a new way to diagnose early-stage ovarian cancer in high-risk women through minimally invasive surgery. The new technique may be better than the current standard procedure of preemptively removing the ovaries.

Ultrasound improves stem cell transplants, Swedish researchers discover

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 08:52:52 EDT

Transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells is an effective treatment for patients with malignant blood diseases. The composition and quality of the transplanted cells are crucial to the outcome. Researchers from Sweden have now developed a method to improve the quality of the transplanted cells using ultrasound for cell separation.

Tiny oxygen generators boost effectiveness of anticancer treatment

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:59:59 EDT

Researchers have created and tested miniature devices that are implanted in tumors to generate oxygen, boosting the killing power of radiation and chemotherapy.

Near-infrared imaging system shows promise as future pancreatic cancer diagnostic tool

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:19:19 EDT

Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that optical coherence tomography (OCT), a high resolution optical imaging technique that works by bouncing near-infrared laser light off biological tissue, can reliably distinguish between pancreatic cysts that are low-risk and high-risk for becoming malignant.

Spotting weaknesses in solid wood

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 08:16:16 EDT

Is there a hairline crack in the oak table? Was the window frame glued badly? Ultrasound thermography can reliably identify material defects during the production of wooden items. This allows rejects to be caught quickly and eliminated, and faulty goods to be repaired in good time.

New high-speed 3-D imaging system holds potential for improved cancer screening

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:03:03 EDT

Researchers have developed a new imaging system that enables high-speed, three-dimensional (3-D) imaging of microscopic pre-cancerous changes in the esophagus or colon. The new system is based on an emerging technology called optical coherence tomography, which offers a way to see below the surface with 3-D, microscopic detail in ways that traditional screening methods can't.

Engineers develop one-way transmission system for sound waves

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:24:24 EDT

While many hotel rooms, recording studios, and even some homes are built with materials to help absorb or reflect sound, mechanisms to truly control the direction of sound waves are still in their infancy. However, researchers have now created the first tunable acoustic diode -- a device that allows acoustic information to travel only in one direction, at controllable frequencies.

Gold nanoparticles help earlier diagnosis of liver cancer

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:57:57 EDT

Medical researchers have devised a new technique to spot cancerous tumors in the liver as small as 5 millimeters. The technique, using gold nanoparticles, is the first to deploy metal nanoparticles as agents to enhance X-ray scattering of image tumor-like masses.

New imaging technology promising for diagnosing cardiovascular disease, diabetes

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:37:37 EDT

Researchers have developed a new type of imaging technology to diagnose cardiovascular disease and other disorders by measuring ultrasound signals from molecules exposed to a fast-pulsing laser.

New technology fuses MRI, ultrasound to achieve targeted biopsy of prostate cancer

Wed, 11 May 2011 13:42:42 EDT

A new prostate-imaging technology that fuses MRI with real-time, three-dimensional ultrasound may offer a more exacting method to obtain biopsy specimens from suspicious areas within the organ.

Lessening the dangers of radiation: Ultrasound as effective as CT scans for most diagnoses, research finds

Wed, 11 May 2011 10:11:11 EDT

A new study exploring the efficacy of expensive and invasive CT scans has found that, in many cases, they don't offer a clinical advantage over a simple, inexpensive ultrasound procedure.

A better imaging agent for heart disease and breast cancer

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 10:14:14 EDT

Scientists are reporting development of a process for producing large quantities of a much-needed new imaging agent for computed tomography scans in heart disease, breast cancer and other diseases, and the first evidence that the material is safe for clinical use. The imaging agent is a tantalum oxide nanoparticle, which is inexpensive, and stays in the body long enough to image many different organs.

Lightning-fast materials testing using ultrasound

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:28:28 EDT

For years, ultrasound has proven to be a valuable tool in non-destructive materials testing. However, the demands of modern production conditions are increasing all the time. Researchers have now developed a new, more reliable process that delivers testing results at a rate that is up to a hundredfold higher.

Invisibility cloaks and more: Force of acoustical waves tapped for metamaterials

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:23:23 EDT

A very simple bench-top technique that uses the force of acoustical waves to create a variety of 3-D structures will benefit the rapidly expanding field of metamaterials and their myriad applications -- including "invisibility cloaks."

New device uses submarine technology to diagnose stroke quickly

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 09:54:54 EDT

A medical device developed by retired US Navy sonar experts, using submarine technology, is a new paradigm for the detection, diagnosis and monitoring of stroke, says a team of interventional radiologists.

Student innovation transmits data and power wirelessly through submarine hulls

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:22:22 EST

Steel walls are no match for one doctoral student. He has developed and demonstrated an innovative new system that uses ultrasound to simultaneously transmit large quantities of data and power wirelessly through thick metal walls, like the hulls of ships and submarines.

Ultrasound and algorithms could lead to better breast cancer screening

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:23:23 EST

New research holds the promise of becoming a powerful new weapon in the fight against breast cancer. His complex computational research has led to a fast, inexpensive new method for using ultrasound and advanced algorithms to differentiate between benign and malignant tumors with a high degree of accuracy.

Bedside ultrasound becomes a reality

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:12:12 EST

Clinicians have often referred to ultrasound technology as the "stethoscope of the future," predicting that as the equipment shrinks in size, it will one day be as common at the bedside as that trusty tool around every physician's neck. According to a new report, that day has arrived.

Sleeping Trojan horse to aid imaging of diseased cells

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 09:58:58 EST

A unique strategy developed by researchers in the UK is opening up new possibilities for improving medical imaging. Medical imaging often requires getting unnatural materials such as metal ions into cells, a process which is a major challenge across a range of biomedical disciplines. One technique currently used is called the 'Trojan Horse' in which the drug or imaging agent is attached to something naturally taken up by cells.

Ultrasound fusion imaging provides comparable accuracy for bone, soft tissue tumors

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 18:53:53 EST

Biopsies using ultrasound fusion imaging for detecting bone and soft tissue cancers are safe, effective and just as accurate as conventional biopsy methods, according to a new study.

Biomedical imaging: Ultrasound guide star and time-reversal mirror can focus light deep under the skin

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 11:43:43 EST

Focusing light into a scattering medium such as tissue has been a dream since the beginning of biomedical optics. Previous techniques allowed light to be focused only within a millimeter of the skin. Now a scientist has invented a technique called TRUE that uses an ultrasound guide star to allow scattered optical light be focused deep within tissue.

New outline may help weigh benefits of new imaging technologies

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:18:18 EST

A new article provides a roadmap for imaging manufacturers to navigate the unique and increasingly complex US regulatory and reimbursement environment.

Newly developed cloak hides underwater objects from sonar

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:20:20 EST

Researchers have demonstrated an acoustic cloak, a technology that renders underwater objects invisible to sonar and other ultrasound waves. They have developed a working prototype, metamaterial capable of hiding an object from a broad range of sound waves. Sixteen layers of specially structured acoustic circuits bend sound waves to wrap them around the outer layers of the cloak.

Sonar inspired by dolphins: New kind of underwater device can detect objects through bubble clouds

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 10:45:45 EST

Scientists have developed a new kind of underwater sonar device that can detect objects through bubble clouds that would effectively blind standard sonar.

Novel metamaterial vastly improves quality of ultrasound imaging

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:11:11 EST

A new copper "metamaterial" can overcome some of the limitations of acoustic microscopes and imagers, including ultrasound imagers. Researchers have designed and built a metamaterial that improves the picture quality of sonography by a factor of 50. The material, composed of copper tubes, resonantly channels evanescent acoustic waves to a detector, capturing more detail than is carried by propagating sound waves.

NASA technology could aid in interpretation of mammograms, ultrasound, other medical imagery

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:22:22 EDT

NASA software used to enhance Earth Science Imagery could one day aid in the interpretation of mammograms, ultrasounds and other medical imagery.