Abstract: A device and method is provided for a trackable suction tool for surgical use. The suction tool provides multiple configurations for the tip and reference tree, while allowing tracking by a navigation system. The tip and reference tree are attached to the suction tool handle by a snap fit, a threaded ring with key and slot connections or semi-Allen key connections, providing specific rotational configurations of the tip, handle and reference tree with each other. The handle may include a rotatable outer sleeve with a tear-shaped orifice for suction regulation and an inner sleeve with a corresponding opening, allowing variable placement of the tear-shaped orifice relative to the longitudinal axis of the suction tool. The features of the device allow a suction tool with multiple configurations to be trackable with a navigation system.

Abstract: A system for use in managing a neuromodulation therapy includes an ultrasound transducer array controlled by a control unit to deliver ultrasound waveforms for causing modulation of neural tissue in a patient. The system acquires data indicating a response to the modulation, analyzes the acquired data to determine correlation data between a response to the modulation and an ultrasound control parameter, and reports the correlation data to enable identification of at least one therapy parameter to be used to deliver a neuromodulation therapy to the patient by a therapy delivery system.

Abstract: A method comprises advancing a medical instrument and a catheter toward a target tissue within a patient anatomy. The instrument includes a distal sheath marker and is slidably received within the catheter. The distal sheath marker includes a channel and an identification feature. A portion of the instrument is slidably received within the channel. The method further comprises depositing the distal sheath marker at a location at or near the target. The distal sheath marker indicates a farthest advancement point of the instrument within the patient anatomy. The method further comprises: after depositing the distal sheath marker, withdrawing the instrument away from the target; determining an orientation of the distal sheath marker based on the identification feature; and, after withdrawing the instrument, using the location and orientation of the deposited distal sheath marker to determine a trajectory of a distal end of the instrument at or near the target.

Abstract: A multi-angular ultrasound device. Multi-angular ablation patterns are achieved by a catheter based ultrasound transducer having a plurality of transducer zones. A multi-chambered balloon is positioned on the catheter.

Abstract: This disclosure provides a method of measuring the axial rotation of a selected vertebra of a patient using a magnetic resonance (MR) image. The method includes: identifying, in the MR image, two or more features of the selected vertebra; determining a first axis connecting the identified features; identifying, in the MR image, two or more features of the patient's surrounding anatomy that are not features of the selected vertebra; determining a second axis connecting the identified features of the patient's surrounding anatomy; measuring the angular difference between the first and second axes; and determining the axial rotation of the cervical vertebra based on the measurement. In some examples of the disclosure, determining the axial rotation of the cervical vertebra is based on the degree of perpendicularity between the first and second axes.

Abstract: A system and method of generating a graphical representation of a network of a subject human brain. The method comprises receiving, via a user interface, a selection of the network of the subject brain; determining, based on an MRI image of the subject brain and one or more identifiers associated with the selection, one or more parcellations of the subject brain (405); determining, using three-dimensional coordinates associated with each parcellation, corresponding tracts in a diffusion tensor image of the brain (425); and generating a graphical representation of the selected network (430), the graphical representation including at least one of (i) one or more surfaces representing the one or more parcellations, each surface generated using the coordinates, and (ii) the determined tracts.

Abstract: Eyelid illumination systems and methods for imaging meibomian glands for meibomian gland analysis are disclosed. In one embodiment, a patient's eyelid is IR trans-illuminated with an infrared (IR) light. A trans-illumination image of the patient's eyelid is captured showing meibomian glands in dark outlined areas, whereas non-gland material is shown in light areas. This provides a high contrast image of the meibomian glands that is X-ray like. The lid trans-illumination image of the meibomian glands can be analyzed to determine to diagnose the meibomian glands in the patient's eyelid. The eyelid may be trans-illuminated by a lid-flipping device configured to grasp and flip the eyelid for imaging the interior surface of the eyelid. Also, an IR surface meibography image of the meibomian glands may also be captured and combined with the trans-illumination image of the meibomian glands to provide a higher contrast image of the meibomian glands.

Abstract: The present invention provides a personal hand-held monitor comprising a signal acquisition device for acquiring signals which can be used to derive a measurement of a parameter related to the health of the user, the signal acquisition device being integrated with a personal hand-held computing device. The present invention also provides a signal acquisition device adapted to be integrated with a personal hand-held computing device to produce a personal hand-held monitor as defined above.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes at least a memory circuitry, a processing circuitry, a data interpolation circuitry, and an image generating circuitry. The memory circuitry stores a plurality of pieces of reception data in an order of reception, the plurality of pieces of reception data being received continuously in a time series by a plurality of transducers, and specifies reading positions in an order different from the order of reception. The processing circuitry calculates a delay time, and calculates, based on the delay time, reading positions for acquiring reception data being used for calculating interpolation data from the memory circuitry. The data interpolation circuitry calculates interpolating data based on the plurality of pieces of reception data acquired from the calculated reading positions of the memory circuitry. The image generating circuitry generates an ultrasonic image based on a reception beam formed by using the interpolation data.

Abstract: The ultrasonic image pickup apparatus includes a transmission/reception control unit that transmits an ultrasonic wave by applying a DC bias voltage and an AC driving voltage between electrodes of the electrostatic capacity type micro-machined ultrasonic transducer and picks up an image by transmitting and receiving two or more kinds of ultrasonic waveforms which have different signs, amplitudes, or phases from each other for one scanning line. In addition, as the AC driving voltage, the ultrasonic image pickup apparatus uses a voltage waveform that is obtained by adding a high frequency pulse waveform and a low frequency waveform that has a longer cycle than that of the high frequency pulse waveform and has such a voltage amplitude as makes the total voltage of the low frequency waveform and the DC bias voltage is equal or smaller than a pull-in voltage.

Abstract: Disclosed is an imaging catheter system that utilizes optical coherence tomography and autofluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. The disclosed imaging catheter system may include: an autofluorescence light source; an OCT device; a catheter device configured to receive rays inputted from the autofluorescence light source and an OCT light source of the OCT device and scan a specimen; an optical detector unit configured to detect autofluorescence generated from the specimen; and a first optics system configured to transfer the autofluorescence to the optical detector unit and transfer a ray of the OCT light source reflected from the specimen to the OCT device.

Abstract: An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus includes: an ultrasound probe; a transmission and reception unit that transmits an ultrasound beam from the ultrasound probe toward a subject, receives an ultrasound beam reflected from the subject, and processes a received signal output from the ultrasound probe to generate received data; a complex data generation unit that generates first complex data including amplitude information and phase information by orthogonally detecting the received data generated by the transmission and reception unit using a first center frequency and a first cutoff frequency and generates second complex data by orthogonally detecting the same data as the received data using a second cutoff frequency and a second center frequency lower than the first center frequency; a B-mode processing unit that generates a B-mode image using amplitude information of at least one of the first complex data or the second complex data; a phase difference calculation unit that calculates a first phase difference

Abstract: In one aspect, in accordance with one embodiment, a method includes acquiring magnetic resonance (MR) data corresponding to bone tissue in an area of interest of a subject that is heated from the application of localized energy. The acquiring includes applying a three-dimensional (3D) ultra-short echo time (UTE) spiral acquisition sequence. The method also includes detecting, from the acquired magnetic resonance data, a change in MR response signal due to a change in at least one of relaxation rate and magnetization density caused by heating of the bone tissue; and determining, based at least in part on the change in the MR response signal, that the temperature of the bone tissue has changed.

Abstract: An ultrasound processing system includes an ultrasound interface and processing electronics. The ultrasound interface receives imaging information. The processing electronics are coupled to the ultrasound interface and are configured to perform processing across a plurality of ultrasound channels by combining channel data for adaptively reducing the common mode noise prior to beamforming for a transmit event. The combination of the channel data may be computing an arithmetic mean, which is then multiplied to a weighting coefficient. This value may then be removed from the individual channel data. The modified channel data is then transmitted to a beamformer, which processes the channel data for directional signal transmission and reception.

Abstract: An ultrasound device performs a two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound scan to acquire a plurality of 2D images based on 2D ultrasound scan parameters. The ultrasound system stops the 2D ultrasound scan in response to an instruction received by a processor of the ultrasound system. The ultrasound device performs a thin slice volume ultrasound scan in response to the instruction to acquire a thin slice volume. The thin slice volume includes a last acquired 2D image of the 2D ultrasound scan and one or more 2D images adjacent to the last acquired 2D image. The ultrasound system identifies at least one representative plane from the thin slice volume. The ultrasound system displays the identified at least one representative plane at a display system.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a handheld device and an according method for optoacoustic imaging of an object, comprising an irradiation unit for irradiating the object with electromagnetic radiation, for example, light, and a detector unit for detecting acoustic, for example, ultrasonic, waves generated in the object upon irradiation with electromagnetic radiation, wherein the detector unit comprises an array of detector elements. In order to facilitate an acquisition of high-quality tomographic optoacoustic images from different depths within the object at a simple overall design, the handheld device may be provided with a recess, in which the irradiation unit and the array of detector elements are provided, wherein the detector elements are arranged in the recess such that the surface normals of at least a part of the detector elements are directed to a region of interest on or within the object.

Abstract: An ultrasound imaging apparatus may control an ultrasound image in various ways and improve user convenience by controlling a touch screen or display output by the ultrasound imaging apparatus in accordance with a touch pressure or touch time of a user. The ultrasound imaging apparatus may include a probe configured to emit an ultrasonic signal to an object and receive a reflected ultrasonic signal; a processor configured to generate an ultrasound image based on the ultrasonic signal received by the probe; and a touch screen configured to output the ultrasound image generated by the processor and receive a touch of a user or a pressure of the touch, wherein the processor controls the ultrasound image and the touch screen based on the pressure of the touch.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and a system for processing ultrasonic data. The method comprises: obtaining (210) a B-mode ultrasonic image; setting (220) a first ROI on the ultrasonic image according to a first input received from a user; measuring (230) elasticity-related data for the first ROI by using a shear wave ultrasonic imaging technique; generating (240) a second ROI on the ultrasonic image on the basis of the first ROI; and extracting image features for the second ROI from the ultrasonic image.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus is configured to generate ultrasound image data of a subject through an ultrasound probe. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus includes a specifying unit, a transmission/reception condition change unit, and an image generator. The specifying unit specifies a characteristic site, which is included in a scanning range related to the ultrasound image data and has specific acoustic characteristics, based on three-dimensional image data of the subject generated in advance. The transmission/reception condition change unit changes transmission/reception conditions of ultrasound waves based on the acoustic characteristics of the characteristic site. The image generator generates the ultrasound image data based on changed transmission/reception conditions.

Abstract: A medical imaging system comprises a three dimensional (3D) ultrasound system and a 3D holographic display system. The ultrasound system generates 3D ultrasound data that can be used to construct a 3D image of a patient. The display system displays the image in a 3D holographic form and comprises a touchless input interface that allows a user to control the display from within a sterile field while performing a medical procedure.