Abstract: Guidance may be provided to users, at least in part, by graphic overlays on displays of ultrasound images. The guidance may assist users in acquiring images suitable for making hepato-renal index (HRI) measurements. In some examples, the guidance may assist the user in finding the proper imaging plane including a portion of the liver and kidney. In some examples, the guidance may further assist the user in proper placement of regions of interest within the image for calculating the HRI, such as at the same depth and appropriate portions of the liver and kidney. In some examples, one or more processors may analyze the image to ensure the quality is suitable for calculating the HRI.

Abstract: User feedback on acquisition of ultrasound data may be provided to a user. The feedback may indicate a quality of the acquisition and/or the reliability of the measurements calculated from the ultrasound data, for example, the volume flow measurements calculated from Doppler data. Various quality factors such as a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), motion, Doppler angle, vessel size, vessel depth, and/or variance in velocity values may be determined to provide an indication of quality of the acquisition. The quality factors may be provided individually or in combination. In some examples, one or more quantitative values of the quality factors may be provided. In some examples, one or more qualitative indications of the quality of the acquisition may be provided.

Abstract: Monoclonal antibodies that bind and inhibit the activity of human GDF15 are disclosed. The antibodies can be used to treat body weight loss, including cachexia, associated with the over-expression of human GDF15.

Abstract: An ultrasound imaging system may acquire an image of a liver. The liver may be segmented from the image. Parameters, such as image homogeneity map, intensity probability chart, and/or speckle size diagram, may be extracted from the liver portion of the image. The parameters may be used to determine whether fatty liver deposits are diffuse or inhomogeneous. In some examples, inhomogeneous regions may be excluded from the calculation of liver fat quantification measurements. In some examples, the inhomogeneous regions may be displayed so that a user may select a region of interest that excludes the inhomogeneous regions to calculate the liver fat quantification measurements.

Abstract: A therapeutic ultrasound method configured to adaptively transmit ultrasound pulses toward microbubbles in a treatment region to remove an occlusion is described. In some examples, the system may include a treatment pulse unit configured to transmit an ultrasound pulse to a treatment region of a subject, the treatment region including a plurality of microbubbles. An echo detection unit may be configured to receive one or more echoes responsive to the ultrasound pulse. In some examples, the method may also include a data processor configured to identify, using data associated with the echoes, at least one echo signature indicative of a dynamic state of the microbubbles in response to the ultrasound pulse. A controller may be configured to adjust one or more parameters of an additional ultrasound pulse transmitted to the treatment region via the treatment pulse unit based on the at least one echo signature.

Abstract: Apparatuses, systems, and methods are provided for automatically selecting first and last frames for a sequence of frames from which an accumulation contrast image may be generated. In some examples, statistical distributions of groups of pixels of the image frames may be analyzed to generate parametric maps. The parametric maps may be analyzed to select the first and last image frames of the sequence. In some examples, an image frame corresponding to the parametric map having a value above a threshold value may be selected as a first frame. In some examples, an image frame corresponding to the parametric map having a maximum value of all the parametric maps may be selected as the last frame. In some examples, the parametric maps may be used to segment features, such as a tumor, from the image frame.

Abstract: A head-mounted device may include optical assemblies for presenting images to a user. Motors may be used to adjust the spacing between the optical assemblies to accommodate different interpupillary distances. Gaze trackers may be used to make interpupillary distance measurements and eye relief measurements. Adjustments to the positions of the optical assemblies may be made by the motors based on the interpupillary distance measurements and eye relief measurements.

Abstract: A system for performing ablation includes an ablation device (102) configured to ablate tissue in accordance with control parameters and configured to make measurements during the ablation process. An imaging system (104) is configured to measure an elastographic related parameter to monitor ablation progress. A parameter estimation and monitoring module (115) is configured to receive the measurements from the ablation device and/or the elastographic related parameter to provide feedback to adaptively adjust imaging parameters of the imaging device at different times during an ablation process.

Abstract: Systems and methods for providing data for visualization and data for quantification are disclosed herein. The data for visualization may be used to generate images to provide to a user on a display. The data for quantification may be used to calculate various physiologically relevant parameters, such as hepato-renal index (HRI) values. In some examples, the quantification data may not be used to generate images. In some examples, a user may select regions of interest (ROIs) in the images generated from the visualization data and the corresponding quantification data for the ROIs may be used to calculate one or more parameters. The visualization data and quantification data may be generated from different imaging modes or same imaging modes with different data processing in some examples.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes ultrasound systems and methods configured to determine the elasticity of a target tissue. Systems can include an ultrasound transducer configured to acquire echoes responsive to ultrasound pulses transmitted toward the tissue, which may include a region of increased stiffness. Systems can also include a beamformer configured to control the transducer to transmit a push pulse into the tissue, thereby generating a shear wave in the region of increased stiffness. The beamformer can be configured to control the transducer to emit tracking pulses adjacent to the push pulse. Systems can further include a processor configured to determine a displacement amplitude of the shear wave and based on the amplitude, generate a qualitative tissue elasticity map of the tissue. The processor can combine the qualitative map with a quantitative map of the same tissue, and based on the combination, determine a boundary of the region of increased stiffness.

Abstract: In an ultrasound imaging system which produces synthetically transmit focused images, the multiline signals used to form image scanlines are analyzed for speed of sound variation, and a map 60 of this variation is generated. In a preferred implementation, the phase discrepancy of the received multilines caused by speed of sound variation in the medium is estimated in the angular spectrum domain for the receive angular spectrum. Once the phase is estimated for all locations in an image, the differential phase between two points at the same lateral location, but different depth, is computed. This differential phase is proportional to the local speed of sound between the two points. A color-coded two- or three-dimensional map 60 is produced from these speed of sound estimates and presented to the user.

Abstract: Systems and methods for multi-level vascular imaging for construction and display of vasculature from large to small vessels and micro-vessels using a combination of varying resolution contrast enhanced ultrasound flow imaging modalities are disclosed. While one or more resolution flow imaging modes may be employed for imaging large to small vessels of a vascular tree within a large region of interest, a high resolution mode, such as super resolution imaging, constructed for delineation of the microvascular morphology and directional microcirculation is provided within one or more small ROIs placed in selected locations within the larger ROI.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes ultrasound systems and methods configured to determine the elasticity of a target tissue. Systems can include an ultrasound transducer configured to acquire echoes responsive to ultrasound pulses transmitted toward the tissue, which may include a region of increased stiffness. Systems can also include a beamformer configured to control the transducer to transmit a push pulse into the tissue, thereby generating a shear wave in the region of increased stiffness. The beamformer can be configured to control the transducer to emit tracking pulses adjacent to the push pulse. Systems can further include a processor configured to determine a displacement amplitude of the shear wave and based on the amplitude, generate a qualitative tissue elasticity map of the tissue. The processor can combine the qualitative map with a quantitative map of the same tissue, and based on the combination, determine a boundary of the region of increased stiffness.

Abstract: Systems and methods for generating adaptive contrast accumulation imaging images are disclosed. A point spread function thinning/skeletonization technique may be performed on contrast enhanced image frames. An aggressiveness parameter of the technique may be adapted temporally and/or spatially. The aggressiveness parameter may be adapted based on various factors, including, but not limited to, time since injection of the contrast agent, signal intensity, and/or vessel size. The images may be temporally accumulated to generate a final sequence of adaptive contrast accumulation imaging images.

Abstract: Systems and methods for calculating hepato-renal index (HRI) values from radiofrequency (RF) data are disclosed herein. The RF data may include fundamental frequency components, harmonic frequency components, or a combination thereof. Signal intensities within regions of interest may be calculated from the RF data. The signal intensities may be averaged to arrive at an average signal intensity value for each region of interest. In some examples, some of the highest and/or lowest signal intensity values may be removed prior to averaging. The ratio of the average signal intensities from the different regions of interest may be then be taken to arrive at the HRI values.

Abstract: Systems and methods for time-varying two-dimensional (2D) color maps for visualizing images or sequences of images are disclosed. The 2D color map may include brightness values of a hue corresponding to different intensities that changes over time. In some 2D color maps, the hue used for the intensity scale may change over time while the brightness of a pixel may not. In some 2D color maps, both the hue and the brightness may change relative to intensity over time.

Abstract: An ultrasound system produces maps of acoustic attenuation coefficients from B mode image signals. A plurality of maps located in different parallel and elevationally separated planes (A, B, C, D, E) are produced, then compounded in the elevation direction. Confidence maps may also be produced for one or more attenuation coefficient maps, and the confidence map displayed or its measures used to determine weighting for the compounding process. The compounding of elevationally separate planes improves attenuation coefficient estimation in the presence of blood vessels affecting the estimates in one or more of the planes.

Abstract: A system for boundary identification includes a memory (42) to store shear wave displacements through a medium as a displacement field including a spatial component and a temporal component. A directional filter (206, 208) filters the displacement field to provide a directional displacement field. A signal processing device (26) is coupled to the memory to execute a boundary estimator (214) to estimate a tissue boundary in a displayed image based upon a history of the directional displacement field accumulated over time.

Abstract: A therapeutic ultrasound method configured to adaptively transmit ultrasound pulses toward microbubbles in a treatment region to remove an occlusion is described. In some examples, the system may include a treatment pulse unit configured to transmit an ultrasound pulse to a treatment region of a subject, the treatment region including a plurality of microbubbles. An echo detection unit may be configured to receive one or more echoes responsive to the ultrasound pulse. In some examples, the method may also include a data processor configured to identify, using data associated with the echoes, at least one echo signature indicative of a dynamic state of the microbubbles in response to the ultrasound pulse. A controller may be configured to adjust one or more parameters of an additional ultrasound pulse transmitted to the treatment region via the treatment pulse unit based on the at least one echo signature.

Abstract: A therapeutic ultrasound system transmits a staggered or interleaved pattern of therapy beams for use in sonothrombolysis and other Vascular Acoustic Resonators (VAR) mediated therapy. The inventive technique minimizes VAR, e.g. microbubble, destruction due to adjacent beams, ensures uniform sonication of the targeted region by filling in the spaces between the beams in subsequent passes, and further provides a means for bubble replenishment to maximize the clot lysis from ultrasound. The technique is also applicable to diagnostic ultrasound, VAR mediated drug delivery and blood brain barrier opening.