Abstract: Sonodynamic therapy systems and methods use short, high-pressure ultrasound pulses that produce small (and therefore clinically safe) increases (up to 1-2° C.) in tissue temperature but nonetheless activate sonodynamic agents, allowing isolated single-cav-itation events to produce therapeutically beneficial effects (e.g., cytotoxicity) on diseased tissue. An escalating sonication strategy may be employed whereby the focal pressure is gradually increased until maximum clinically tolerable parameters such as the degree of heating of intervening tissue (e.g., the skull when treating brain cancer) or undesired induced cavitation effects are reached.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for initializing an ultrasound procedure for a target region. The method includes determining a distribution of vessel diameters of vasculature in a target region. The method also includes providing, at the target region, microbubbles having a size distribution related to the distribution of vessel diameters.

Abstract: In an ultrasound system, echo focusing is performed to align ultrasound pulse peaks, establishing the phase delay required for each ultrasound transducer element, and the temporal displacements among pulses are determined using, for example, time-of-flight (ToF) measurements. The combined approach aligns the phases and the envelopes of pulses delivered by the active transducer elements that contribute energy during treatment. Moreover, it permits long pulses to be used for phase alignment in the preparatory stage and perfectly aligned short pulses in the sonication stage.

Abstract: Systems and methods for treating target tissue include generating a priming sequence of sonication pulses for delivering acoustic energy to the target tissue; pausing generation of the sonication pulses for a delay interval; and generating a series of treatment sequences of sonication pulses for delivering acoustic energy to the target tissue, the treatment sequences having sonication intervals therebetween and the delay interval being larger than the largest sonication interval by a predetermined factor.

Abstract: Transducer elements have one or more asymmetric features that give rise to multiple natural resonance frequencies. The feature(s) can be discrete (e.g., steps, bars, or gemstone-like facets) or continuous across one or more dimensions of the transducer element (e.g., a triangular prism). A transducer element can be driven at more than one resonance frequency; multiple frequencies will excite more than one feature in parallel, each producing an output emission with a characteristic frequency and phase. An optimal frequency—i.e., one that maximizes the peak acoustic intensity or acoustic power at the target—within a certain frequency range may be determined, and a plurality of asymmetric transducer elements may be driven at a center frequency that coincides with or is close to this optimal frequency.

Abstract: Various approaches for delivering ultrasound energy to a target region during a therapeutic or diagnostic procedure includes implementing an adjustment mechanism having a machine-learning model that has been trained, based on input vectors corresponding to a difference and/or a ratio of parameter values between multiple transducer elements, to generate, for each of the transducer elements, one or more parameter value to compensate for expected beam aberration resulting for an intervening tissue; and activating the transducer elements in accordance with the corresponding parameter values so as to generate an optimized focal zone at the target region during the therapeutic or diagnostic procedure.

Abstract: Various approaches for computationally characterizing tissue in an anatomic target region include generating multiple sonications to transient acoustic reflectors at or proximate to the target region; measuring reflection signals of the sonications off the transient acoustic reflectors; based on the measurements, identifying the reflection signals originating from single transient acoustic reflectors; and based at least in part on the identified reflection signals, generating a digital map including a tissue characteristic.

Abstract: Approaches for focusing an ultrasound transducer having multiple transducer elements include generating the first sonication to one or more target regions and measuring the first set of reflection signals resulting from the first sonication; based on the first set of reflection signals, determining whether a target number or a target occurrence rate of focusing events has been reached; if not, generating the second sonication at an adjusted acoustic power to the target region(s) and measuring the second set of reflection signals resulting from the second sonication; and based at least in part on the second set of reflection signals, adjusting a parameter value associated with one or more transducer elements so as to improve an ultrasound focus at the target region(s).

Abstract: Various approaches to delivering ultrasound energy to a target region include, prior to delivery of the ultrasound energy, populating a data structure relating multiple real-time parameter values to corresponding correction values for one or more ultrasound parameter values associated with one or more transducer elements for generating a focal zone of acoustic energy in at least the first portion of the target region; and during the treatment, (i) predicting or causing measurement of at least one of the real-time parameter values in the second portion of the target region or the non-target region; (ii) based at least in part on the predicted or measured real-time parameter value(s) and contents of the data structure, determine the correction value(s) for the ultrasound parameter value(s); and (iii) activate the transducer element(s) based at least in part on the determined correction value(s) for the ultrasound parameter value(s) so as to generate the focal zone in the second portion of the target region.

Abstract: A system and method for connected vehicle cybersecurity. A method includes creating, by a remote system, a normal behavior model based on a first set of data including at least one first event with respect to connected vehicles, wherein the first set of data is collected from data sources, wherein the remote system is remote from the fleet of connected vehicles; detecting, by the remote system, an anomaly based on the normal behavior model and a second set of data, the second set of data including a second event with respect to the connected vehicles, wherein each of the first set of data and the second set of data includes vehicle data related to operation of the connected vehicles, wherein each event represents a communication with the connected vehicles; determining, based on the detected anomaly, at least one mitigation action; and causing implementation of the at least one mitigation action.

Abstract: Systems and methods provide accelerated MR thermometry utilizing prior knowledge about the images to be reconstructed from incomplete k-space data, thereby facilitating accurate reconstruction. In various embodiments, missing data is computationally estimated using a machine learning algorithm such as a neural network, and an image is generated based on iteratively updated estimated missing information.

Abstract: Various approaches for focusing an ultrasound transducer include introducing at least one transient acoustic reflector located in proximity to at least one target region; generating multiple sonications to the at least one target region; measuring a reflection signal of each of the sonications off the at least one transient acoustic reflector; selecting the measured reflection signals, and based at least in part on the selected reflection signals, adjusting a parameter value associated with at least one of the transducer elements so as to improve an ultrasound focus at the target region.

Abstract: Various approaches for heating a target region substantially uniformly include identifying one or more locations of one or more hot spots in the target region and/or surrounding regions of the target region during an ultrasound sonication process; computing a temporal variation to an output parameter of at least one of the transducer elements based at least in part on the identified location(s) of the hot spot(s); and operating the at least one transducer element to achieve the temporal variation of the output parameter so as to minimize the hot spot(s).

Abstract: Systems and methods for detecting and mitigating cyber-attacks directed to connected vehicles. A method includes classifying a behavior of a connected vehicle into at least one classification with respect to a location of data transmission relative to the connected vehicle, wherein the at least one classification includes any of local and remote; determining a plurality of vehicle-related cyber-attack indicators related to the behavior of the connected vehicle; performing risk analysis based on a first combination of vehicle-related cyber-attack indicators and the classification, wherein performing the risk analysis further comprises matching the first combination to a plurality of second combinations of cyber-attack indicators of a plurality of known attack patterns, wherein each of the plurality of known attack patterns has at least one classification matching the at least one classification of the connected vehicle; and performing at least one mitigation action based on the risk analysis.

Abstract: Various approaches for focusing an ultrasound transducer having multiple transducer elements include causing the transducer elements to transmit ultrasound waves to a target region and measure reflections of the ultrasound waves off the target region; for each of at least some of the transducer elements, adjusting a parameter value associated with said each transducer element based at least in part on parameter values associated with multiple measuring transducer elements weighted by signal quality metrics associated with the reflections measured by the measuring transducer elements so as to improve an ultrasound focus at the target region.

Abstract: Various approaches for microbubble-enhanced ultrasound treatment of target tissue include receiving a desired characteristic of the microbubbles for treating the target tissue; causing the microbubbles to be dispensed from the administration device; and comparing a characteristic of the dispensed microbubbles to the desired characteristic so as to validate a match therebetween.

Abstract: Various approaches to focusing an ultrasound transducer includes causing the ultrasound transducer to transmit ultrasound waves to the target region; causing the detection system to indirectly measure the focusing properties; and based at least in part on the indirectly measured focusing properties, adjusting a parameter value associated with at least one of the transducer elements so as to achieve a target treatment power at the target region.

Abstract: Various approaches for enhancing treatment of target tissue using a source of focused ultrasound while limiting damage to non-target tissue include selecting a frequency of ultrasound waves transmitted from the source of focused ultrasound for generating a focus in the target tissue; providing microbubbles having the first size distribution such that at least 50% of the microbubbles have a radius smaller than a critical radius corresponding to a resonance frequency matching the selected frequency of ultrasound waves; and applying the ultrasound waves at the selected frequency to treat the target tissue.

Abstract: Various approaches for disrupting target tissue for treatment include identifying a target volume of the target tissue; causing disruption of the target tissue in a region corresponding to the target volume so as to increase tissue permeability therein; computationally generating a tissue permeability map of the target volume; and based on the tissue permeability map, computationally evaluating the disruption of the target tissue within the target volume.

Abstract: A system and method for connected vehicle risk detection are presented. The includes computing risk scores for a plurality of behaviors detected with respect to a connected vehicle, wherein each of the detected plurality of behaviors is associated with the connected vehicle based on a contextual vehicle state of the connected vehicle; aggregating the computed risk scores to determine an aggregated risk score; determining a risk level for the connected vehicle based on the aggregated risk score; and causing execution of at least one mitigation action based on the determined risk level.