Abstract: The invention concerns a detecting apparatus (12) for imaging at least two areas of a brain of a subject (10), the detecting apparatus (12) comprising:—a holder comprising:—a frame (14) devoted to be cemented on the skull of the subject (10), the frame (14) delimitating an inner portion (18) which is transparent to ultrasound waves,—a removable imaging device comprising:—a platform (16) delimitating an inner space (28), the inner space (28) facing the inner portion (18),—a fixing element (30) adapted to temporary fix and lock the platform (16) to the holder,—an ultrasound probe (32), and—a moving stage (34) holding the ultrasound probe (32) and being adapted to move the ultrasound probe (32) within the inner space (28).

Abstract: The invention concerns a detecting apparatus (12) comprising:—at least two sensors (24, 26, 28), with at least one sensor (24) being an ultrasound transducer adapted to produce ultrasound waves, and—a positioning device (16) defining several compartments (22), each compartment (22) being adapted to hold a sensor (24, 26, 28) and each compartment (22) being located at predetermined location, the positioning device (16) comprising a holder adapted to be fixed on the skull of a subject, the positioning device (16) being adapted to be maintained on the head of the subject using the holder.

Abstract: The inventive imaging method consists in generating a mechanical wave having shearing and compressional components in a viscoelastic medium and in determining the movement parameter of said viscoelastic medium at different points during the propagation of said mechanical wave. Said method comprises a correction stage when the movement parameter is processed for eliminating errors caused by the compressional component of the mechanical wave.

Abstract: An apparatus for treating or preventing a valvular disease comprises: a ultrasound probe located externally to a heart of patient, able to produce ultrasound waves focused inside the heart and suitable to generate, at a focal spot, a pressure sufficient to result in cavitation, an imaging device for mapping in real time a treatment region of a cardiac valve of the patient, the treatment region comprising at least one leaflet of the cardiac valve, a controller configured for driving the ultrasound probe to emit a sequence of focused ultrasound waves, the controller being further configured for steering the focused ultrasound waves so as to scan the entire treatment region to soften the tissues of the treatment region. A method for treating or preventing valvular disease, carried out using the apparatus is also provided.

Abstract: According to the invention, n incident acoustic waves Ei(t), obtained by linearly combining n elemental incident waves E0i(t) with an encoding matrix Hc are consecutively transmitted in a medium to be imaged. n reverberated waves Ri(t) from the medium to be imaged are then consecutively detected, following the transmission of the n incident waves; then n elemental reverberated waves R0i(t) are determined by linearly combining the detected n reverberated waves Ri(t) with a decoding matrix Hd. The Hc and Hd matrices are such that Hc.Hd=D, where D is a diagonal matrix of order n, all the diagonal elements of which are greater than 1.

Abstract: The present invention concerns a method for obtaining a functional parameter of a muscle having a part, the method comprising the steps of: a) applying ultrasound waves to the muscle, b) collecting the ultrasound waves retrodiffused by the muscle at a plurality of times, to obtain collected ultrasound waves, c) determining a first plurality of values representative of stiffness values of one part at a first plurality of times by using the collected ultrasound waves, d) determining a second plurality of values representative of deformation values of said part at a second plurality of times by using the collected ultrasound waves, and e) deducing at least one functional parameter based on the first plurality of values and the second plurality of values. The invention also concerns a corresponding device.

Abstract: Method for functional imaging of the brain, comprising the following steps: (a) a brain is imaged by ultrasound imaging in order to obtain a vascular image to be studied (IVO), (b) the vascular image to he studied (IVO) is compared automatically, by shape recognition, with a cerebral vascular atlas (AV), and the vascular image to be studied (IVO) is thus located in the cerebral vascular atlas (AV), (c) a cerebral functional atlas (AF) corresponding to said cerebral vascular atlas (AV) and comprising cerebral functional zones (1c) located in this cerebral vascular atlas (AV) is used in such a way as to identify cerebral functional zones (1e) on the vascular image to be studied (IVO).

Abstract: The invention relates to a method which comprises emitting ultrasound into a liquid mixture containing first and second reagents in separate phases initially separated by a liquid precursor-gas barrier, the ultrasound having a high enough energy level to vaporize the precursor gas, such as to contact the reagents and thus to activate a chemical reaction therebetween.

Abstract: A method for characterizing an anisotropic soft medium (C) including fibers and having an outer surface (1), by observing in different propagation directions, the propagation of a divergent shear wave from a central area (10) in the anisotropic soft medium. A propagation parameter of the shear wave is inferred therefrom in each of the propagation directions, and then a direction of the fibers of the anisotropic soft medium, a rheological elasticity parameter are determined in a direction perpendicular to the fibers and a rheological elasticity parameter in the direction of the fibers.

Abstract: The invention relates to a radio-frequency antenna system including at least one radio-frequency transmitter and/or receiver and resonators which are mutually electro-magnetically hybridised, coupled with the radio-frequency transmitter and/or receiver, and electrically insulated from one another and from the radio-frequency transmitter and/or receiver.

Abstract: The invention relates to an acoustic-electric imaging method, which includes: a measurement step during which incident ultrasonic waves having different wavefronts are emitted in a medium 1 to be imaged, and at least one electric sensor is used to capture raw electric signals Erawl(t) respectively during the propagation of the incident waves; a step of forming an image, during which an image of the medium including an electric current map is determined from the raw electric signals Erawl(t).

Abstract: A method for mapping fibrous media by propagation of ultrasound from a set transducers, wherein: a number of unfocused incident ultrasonic waves having different wavefronts are emitted; the signals reverberated by the medium toward each transducer are captured; coherent signals respectively corresponding, for each transducer, to contributions coming from different fictitious focal points in the medium are determined; and then the orientation of the fibers is determined by comparing a spatial coherence between said coherent signals, in a plurality of directions.

Abstract: A method of high-resolution ultrasound imaging, in which transducers are made to emit ultrasound waves in a field of observations containing micro bubbles, by making the micro bubbles burst one by one in tandem with the emissions of ultrasound waves. At each shot j of an ultrasound wave, raw reverberated signals Sj(i,t) picked up by each transducer i are recorded, and then differential signals Vj(i,t) representative of variations between successive raw signals are determined, a parabolic function Pj(x) is fitted to the differential signals corresponding to each shot j, and then a crest Aj(x0,y0) of this function Pj, corresponding to the position of the micro bubble destroyed between shots j?1 and j, is determined.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method which comprises emitting ultrasound into a liquid mixture containing first and second reagents in separate phases initially separated by a liquid precursor-gas barrier, the ultrasound having a high enough energy level to vaporise the precursor gas, such as to contact the reagents and thus to activate a chemical reaction therebetween.

Abstract: A Method for measuring heart contractility of a patient, in which a mechanical shear wave is propagated through the heart and observation of the propagation leads to determine a shear wave propagation parameter representative of the elasticity of the heart is disclosed. The value of the propagation parameter at the end of a systole is sampled, which leads to a parameter representative of the end systolic elastance.

Abstract: An imaging method using shear waves for observing a viscoelastic medium, comprising: several successive excitation steps j during which elastic shear waves are generated respectively at different excitation loci (Lj) in the viscoelastic medium by an imaging device, the different excitation loci being separated from one another by a maximum distance Dm, an imaging step corresponding to each excitation step j, in which a set j of successive raw images Imj(tk) of the viscoelastic medium at times tk are determined during propagation of the shear wave, the raw images having a resolution R which is larger than the maximum distance Dm, an averaging step in which raw images Imj(tk) corresponding to the same relative time tk are averaged to determine an average image Im?(tk).

Abstract: A method for ultrasound imaging is provided. The method includes at least a transmission step, a coherence enhancing step, and a beamforming step. In the transmission step, a plurality of ultrasonic waves are transmitted into an imaged region and a set of raw data is acquired by an array of transducers in response to each ultrasonic wave. The ultrasonic waves have different spatial frequency content. In the coherence enhancing step, for each of a plurality of virtual transmit focal zones in the imaged region, at least one set of coherent data is synthesized from the sets of raw data. In the beamforming step, for each of a plurality of locations included in each of the virtual transmit focal zones, an image pixel is computed by beamforming, using the set of coherent data.

Abstract: Device for focusing pulses comprising at least emitting means comprising a network of transducers, these emitting means being adapted to make the network of transducers emit, into a reflective cavity, at least one wave focused onto at least one target point of a target medium. The reflective cavity comprises a multi-scattering medium adapted to cause multiple scattering of said wave.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for measuring a mean visco-elasticity value for a soft material. Said method using a single probe carrying at least one transducer comprises the steps of: a) inducing, in a constraint zone, at least one burst of mechanical vibrations in order to generate internal shear waves in the tissue propagating from said constraint zone into the tissue, b1) measuring, with said transducer, the transient tissue displacements in at least one first measurement zone in the tissue, said first measurement zone being located away from said constraint zone, c) estimating a mean visco-elasticity of the region of the tissue situated between the constraint zone and the first measurement zone from said measured transient tissue displacements of the tissue in the first measurement zone.

Abstract: A method of high-resolution ultrasound imaging, in which transducers are made to emit ultrasound waves in a field of observations containing micro bubbles, by making the micro bubbles burst one by one in tandem with the emissions of ultrasound waves. At each shot j of an ultrasound wave, raw reverberated signals Sj(i,t) picked up by each transducer i are recorded, and then differential signals Vj(i,t) representative of variations between successive raw signals are determined, a parabolic function Pj(x) is fitted to the differential signals corresponding to each shot j, and then a crest Aj(x0,y0) of this function Pj, corresponding to the position of the micro bubble destroyed between shots j-1 and j, is determined.