Infected abscesses are walled-off collections of pus and bacteria. They are a common sequela of complications in the setting of surgery, trauma, systemic infections and other disease states. Current treatment is typically limited to antibiotics with long-term catheter drainage, or surgical washout when inaccessible to percutaneous drainage or unresponsive to initial care efforts. Antibiotic resistance is also a growing concern. Although bacteria can develop drug resistance, they remain susceptible to thermal and mechanical damage. In particular, short pulses of focused ultrasound (i.e., histotripsy) generate mechanical damage through localized cavitation, representing a potential new paradigm for treating abscesses non-invasively, without the need for long-term catheterization and antibiotics. In this pilot study, boiling and cavitation histotripsy treatments were applied to subcutaneous and intramuscular abscesses developed in a novel porcine model. Ultrasound imaging was used to evaluate abscess maturity for treatment monitoring and assessment of post-treatment outcomes. Disinfection was quantified by counting bacteria colonies from samples aspirated before and after treatment. Histopathological evaluation of the abscesses was performed to identify changes resulting from histotripsy treatment and potential collateral damage. Cavitation histotripsy was more successful in reducing the bacterial load while having a smaller treatment volume compared with boiling histotripsy. The results of this pilot study suggest focused ultrasound may lead to a technology for in situ treatment of acoustically accessible abscesses.

Abscesses are walled-off collections of infected fluids containing pus and bacteria. They are often treated with percutaneous drainage in which a drainage catheter may be sutured in place for up to several weeks. Complications such as clogged drains or secondary infections require rehospitalization and wound management. Bacteria are susceptible to mechanical damage, and thus we hypothesize that histotripsy may be a potential new paradigm for treating abscesses noninvasively, without the need for long term catheterization and antibiotics. We developed a porcine animal model that recapitulates some of the features of human abscesses (including size and loculations). Boiling and cavitation histotripsy treatments were applied to subcutaneous and intramuscular abscesses in this porcine model. Ultrasound imaging was used to evaluate abscess maturity, for treatment monitoring and assessment of post-treatment outcomes. Disinfection was quantified by counting bacteria colonies from samples aspirated before and after treatment. Histopathological evaluation of the abscesses was performed to identify changes resulting from histotripsy treatment and potential collateral damage. The results of this pilot study suggest focused ultrasound may lead to a technology for in situ treatment of acoustically accessible abscesses.

Abscesses are walled-off collections of infected fluids most often treated with percutaneous drains placed under CT guidance. Complications such as clogged drains or secondary infections require rehospitalization and wound management. Histotripsy treatment has the potential to eliminate the need for long term catheterization and antibiotics. The progression of abscess development has yet to be fully described. The objective of this study was to use the latest advances in non-contrast ultrasound technologies to characterize abscess development in a porcine animal model. Intramuscular or subcutaneous injections of bacteria plus dextran particles as an irritant led to identifiable abscesses over a 2- to 3-week period. Ultrasound imaging was performed at least weekly, in some cases with a 3D tracking device that provided quantifiable size and shape measurements. Abscess progression was also measured with a plane-wave Doppler mode providing increased sensitivity to low-velocity flows, while abscess stiffness was quantified using shear wave elastography. Most of the mature abscesses were characterized by a rounded core of varying echogenicity surrounded by a hypoechoic capsule that was highly vascularized on Doppler imaging. A treatable abscess was defined by its hypervascular rim and avascular core. Stiffness varied within the abscess but generally decreased over time. Abscess echogenicity, shape, stiffness and vascularity potentially provide features to identify lesions suitable for treatment.

Large intra-abdominal, retroperitoneal and intramuscular hematomas are common consequences of sharp and blunt trauma and post-surgical bleeds, and often threaten organ failure, compartment syndrome or spontaneous infection. Current therapy options include surgical evacuation and placement of indwelling drains that are not effective because of the viscosity of the organized hematoma. We have previously reported the feasibility of using boiling histotripsy (BH) — a pulsed high-intensity focused ultrasound method — for liquefaction of large volumes of freshly coagulated blood and subsequent fine-needle aspiration. The goal of this work was to evaluate the changes in stiffness of large coagulated blood volumes with aging and retraction in vitro, and to correlate these changes with the size of the BH void and, therefore, the susceptibility of the material to BH liquefaction. Large-volume (55–200 mL) whole-blood clots were fabricated in plastic molds from human and bovine blood, either by natural clotting or by recalcification of anticoagulated blood, with or without addition of thrombin. Retraction of the clots was achieved by incubation for 3 h, 3 d or 8 d. The shear modulus of the samples was measured with a custom-built indentometer and shear wave elasticity (SWE) imaging. Sizes of single liquefied lesions produced with a 1.5-MHz high-intensity focused ultrasound transducer within a 30-s standard BH exposure served as the metric for susceptibility of clot material to this treatment. Neither the shear moduli of naturally clotted human samples (0.52 ± 0.08 kPa), nor their degree of retraction (ratio of expelled fluid to original volume 50%––58%) depended on the length of incubation within 0–8 d, and were significantly lower than those of bovine samples (2.85 ± 0.17 kPa, retraction 5%–38%). In clots made from anticoagulated bovine blood, the variation of calcium chloride concentration within 5––40 mmol/L did not change the stiffness, whereas lower concentrations and the addition of thrombin resulted in significantly softer clots, similar to naturally clotted human samples. Within the achievable shear modulus range (0.4–1.6 kPa), the width of the BH-liquefied lesion was more affected by the changes in stiffness than the length of the lesion. In all cases, however, the lesions were larger compared with any soft tissue liquefied with the same BH parameters, indicating higher susceptibility of hematomas to BH damage. These results suggest that clotted bovine blood with added thrombin is an acceptable in vitro model of both acute and chronic human hematomas for assessing the efficiency of BH liquefaction strategies.

Introduction
Hemodynamic-guided cardiopulmonary resuscitation (HGCPR) achieves better outcomes than standard resuscitation. Currently, HGCPR requires an invasive procedure, infeasible during resuscitation. Non-invasive measures of blood flow could provide useful hemodynamic guidance to rescuers.

Objective
We describe initial efforts to develop a device that detects, analyzes, and measures the velocity of carotid artery blood flow (CABF) towards the brain at pre-arrest baseline ('baseline') and during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, here tested in a swine model of cardiac arrest (CA). A key element of that device consists of non-imaging diagnostic ultrasound, due to its simplicity and small form factor, hence potential for deployment during HGCPR in a bandage placed on the neck.

Methods
Sixteen mixed-breed domestic swine were sedated, anesthetized and paralyzed, followed by endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. Cardiac arrest was induced with a 3-s 100 mA transthoracic shock or bolus of fentanyl, after which all animals received mechanical CPR. A non-imaging ultrasound probe was manually applied to the neck over the carotid artery to capture CABF during baseline, as verified with diagnostic ultrasound imaging, and during mechanical resuscitation.

Results
We successfully collected CABF measurements at baseline in 14/16 swine and during attempted resuscitation with mechanical chest compression in 5/16 swine. Signal characteristics include peak blood flow both towards (90.4 ±20.4 cm/s) and away from the brain (–44.2 ±31.8 cm/s) during resuscitation, each larger than flow towards (41.7±14.8 cm/s) and away from brain (–3.0 ± 7.8 cm/s) during baseline.

Conclusion
Measurement of CABF before and during CPR in swine with a non-imaging ultrasound probe is feasible before CA and informative when achieved during CPR. For example, observations of reverse flow within the carotid artery during CPR merits further study for its prevalence and effect on resuscitation outcomes. Also, tissue motion represents a significant obstacle for CABF measurement during CPR. Additional work will determine the feasibility and utility of non-imaging ultrasound measurements of CABF during resuscitation.

The isolation and sorting of cells is an important process in research and hospital labs. Most large research and commercial labs incorporate fluorescently or magnetically labeled antibodies adherent to cell surface antigens for cell identification and separation. In this paper, a process is described that merges biochemical labeling with ultrasound-based separation. Instead of lasers and fluorophore tags, or magnets and magnetic particle tags, the technique uses ultrasound and microbubble tags. Streptavidin-labeled microbubbles were mixed with a human acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line, CCL 119, conjugated with biotinylated anti-CD7 antibodies. Tagged cells were forced under ultrasound, and their displacement and velocity quantified. Differential displacement in a flow stream was quantified against erythrocytes, which showed almost no displacement under ultrasound. A model for the acoustic radiation force on the conjugated pairs compares favorably with observations. This technology may improve on current time-consuming and costly purification procedures.

The use of shock waves for enhancing thermal effects and mechanically ablating tissue is gaining increased attention in high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) applications such as tumor treatment, drug delivery, noninvasive biopsy, and immunotherapy. For abdominal targets, the presence of ribs and inhomogeneous adipose tissue can affect shock formation through aberration, absorption, and diffraction. The goal of this study was to design and validate a phantom for investigating the impact of different tissue structures on shock formation in situ. A transducer with driving electronics was developed to operate at 1.2 MHz with the ability to deliver either short pulses at high powers (up to 5 kW electric power) or continuous output at moderate powers (up to 700 W). Fat and muscle layers were represented by phantoms made from polyvinyl alcohol. Ribs were 3D-printed from a photopolymer material based on 3D CT scan images. Representative targeted tissue was comprised of optically transparent alginate or polyacrylamide gels. The system was characterized by hydrophone measurements free-field in water and in the presence of a body wall or rib phantoms. Shocked waveforms with peak positive/negative pressures of +100 / –20 MPa were measured at the focus in a free field at 1 kW electric source power. When ribs were present, shocks formed at about 50% amplitude at the same power, and higher pressures were measured with ribs positioned closer to the transducer. A uniform body wall structure attenuated shock amplitudes by a smaller amount than non-uniform, and the measurements were insensitive to the axial position of the phantom. Signal magnitude loss at the focus for both the rib phantoms and abdominal wall tissue were consistent with results from real tissues. In addition, boiling histotripsy lesions were generated and visualized in the target gels. The results demonstrate that the presence of ribs and absorptive tissue-mimicking layers do not prevent shock formation at the focus. With real-time lesion visualization, the phantom is suitable for adaptation as a training tool.

Previous studies have observed that individual pulses of intense focused ultrasound (iFU) applied to inflamed and normal tissue can generate sensations, where inflamed tissue responds at a lower intensity than normal tissue. It was hypothesized that successively applied iFU pulses will generate sensation in inflamed tissue at a lower intensity and dose than application of a single iFU pulse. This hypothesis was tested using an animal model of chronic inflammatory pain, created by injecting an irritant into the rat hind paw. Ultrasound pulses were applied in rapid succession or individually to rats' rear paws beginning at low peak intensities and progressing to higher peak intensities, until the rats withdrew their paws immediately after iFU application. Focused ultrasound protocols consisting of successively and rapidly applied pulses elicited inflamed paw withdrawal at lower intensity and estimated tissue displacement values than single pulse protocols. However, both successively applied pulses and single pulses produced comparable threshold acoustic dose values and estimates of temperature increases. This raises the possibility that temperature increase contributed to paw withdrawal after rapid iFU stimulation. While iFU-induction of temporal summation may also play a role, electrophysiological studies are necessary to tease out these potential contributors to iFU stimulation.

The temperature dependence of an agar/gelatin phantom was evaluated. The purpose was to predict the material property response to high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for developing ultrasound guided dosing and targeting feedback. Changes in attenuation, sound speed, shear modulus and thermal properties with temperature were examined from 20°C to 70°C for 3 weeks post-manufacture. The attenuation decreased with temperature by a power factor of 0.15. Thermal conductivity, diffusivity and specific heat all increased linearly with temperature for a total change of approximately 16%, 10% and 6%, respectively. Sound speed had a parabolic dependence on temperature similar to that of water. Initially, the shear modulus irreversibly declined with even a slight increase in temperature. Over time, the gel maintained its room temperature shear modulus with moderate heating. A stable phantom was achieved within 2 weeks post-manufacture that possessed quasi-reversible material properties up to nearly 55°C.

"Twinkling" is a widely reported ultrasound artifact whereby kidney stones and other similar calcified, strongly reflective objects appear as turbulent, flowing blood in color and power Doppler. The twinkling artifact has been shown to improve kidney stone detection over B-mode imaging alone, but its use has several limitations. Principally, twinkling can be confused with blood flow, potentially leading to an incorrect diagnosis. Here a new method is reported for explicitly suppressing the display of color from blood flow to enhance and/or isolate the twinkle signal. The method applies an autoregressive model to standard Doppler pulses in order to differentiate tissue, blood flow, and twinkling. The algorithm was implemented on a software-based, open architecture ultrasound system and tested by a sonographer on phantoms and on stones implanted in a live porcine kidney. Stones of 3-10 mm were detected reproducibly while suppressing blood flow in the image. In conclusion, a new algorithm designed to specifically detect stones has been tested and has potential clinical utility especially as efforts are made to reduce radiation exposure on diagnosis and monitoring.

Twinkling artifact on color Doppler ultrasound is the color labeling of hard objects, such as kidney stones, in the image. The origin of the artifact is unknown, but clinical studies have shown that twinkling artifact can improve the sensitivity of detection of stones by ultrasound. Although Doppler detection normally correlates changes in phase with moving blood, here the effect of amplitude on the artifact is investigated. Radio-frequency and in-phase and quadrature (IQ) data were recorded by pulse-echo ensembles using a software-programmable ultrasound system. Various hard targets in water and in tissue were insonified with a linear probe, and rectilinear pixel-based imaging was used to minimize beam-forming complexity. In addition, synthesized radio-frequency signals were sent directly into the ultrasound system to separate acoustic and signal processing effects. Artifact was observed both in onscreen and post-processed images, and as high statistical variance within the ensemble IQ data. Results showed that twinkling artifact could be obtained from most solid objects by changing the Doppler gain, yet signal amplitude did not have to be sufficiently high to saturate the receive circuits. In addition, low signal but high time gain compensation created the largest variance.

Residual fragments remain in over 50% of treatments for lower pole kidney stones. A second-generation device based on a diagnostic ultrasound system and scanhead has been developed with a unique algorithm for stone detection and the capability to focus ultrasound to expel residual fragments. Focused ultrasound was applied to a bead on string in a water tank as well as to human stones (<5 mm) implanted in the lower pole of a live porcine model via retrograde ureteroscopy. Histological samples were collected and scored in a blinded fashion for therapeutic exposures and for super-therapeutic levels. The in-vitro bead was visually observed to move under focused ultrasound. Even with progressive manual displacement of the bead, the system continuously tracked and caused bead movement in real time. In the live porcine model, stones were expelled from the lower pole to the ureteropelvic junction in seconds to minutes using pulses at a duty factor of 0.02 and 8 W total acoustic power. Injury was observed no more frequently than in controls. Occurrence of injury rose slightly above control at a duty factor of 0.02 and 80 W and at a duty factor of 1 and 8 W.

An area of active research involves using the radiation force of ultrasound to expel small kidney stones or fragments from the kidney. The goal of this work is real-time motion tracking for visual feedback to the user and automated adaptive pushing as the stone moves. Algorithms have been designed to track stone movement during patient respiration but the challenge here is to track the stone motion relative to tissue. A new algorithm was written in MATLAB and implemented on an open-architecture, software-based ultrasound system. The algorithm was first trained then implemented in real-time on B-mode IQ data recorded from phantom experiments and animal studies. The tracking algorithm uses an ensemble of image processing techniques (2-D cross-correlation, phase correlation, and feature-edge detection) to overlay color on the stone in the real-time images and to assign a color to indicate the confidence in the identification of the stone. Camera images as well as ultrasound images showed that the system was able to locate a moving stone, re-target, and apply a new focused push pulse at that location.

Phantoms used for high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) applications require rigorous evaluation of material properties since, locally, the material experiences extreme changes in temperature and stresses with the HIFU treatment. Here we present the testing of an agar-gelatin phantom intended for both acoustic radiation force imaging (ARFI) and HIFU applications. The phantom shear modulus, speed of sound, attenuation, and thermal properties were all evaluated over the range of room temperature to 80C. With the exception of the thermal properties, all measurements were taken during both heating and cool down. Cavitation threshold and melting point were also tested. The change in material sound speed and thermal properties with temperature were quasireversible and similar to that of water. Material attenuation showed a slight decrease with temperature, but appeared to also be reversible. Shear modulus decreased significantly with temperature, going to near zero. The response was not reversible, returning to only approximately one-third of the starting value. These results demonstrate the complex material response that can occur with HIFU treatment. The results also raise the question of how well the test procedures, and thus results, properly reflect the true HIFU conditions.

Interactions between bubbles and nearby boundaries have been studied for some time; however, the direct interactions between bubbles and tissue boundaries, especially blood vessel walls, have not been studied to a large extent. In this work highspeed microscopy was used to study the dynamical interaction between microbubbles and microvessels of ex vivo rat mesentery subjected to a single pulse of ultrasound. Ultrasound contrast agent microbubbles were injected into the blood vessels of rat mesentery subsequent to having the blood flushed out. India ink was used to increase the contrast between microvessels and surrounding tissues. Tissue samples were aligned at the focus of both an ultrasound transducer with a center frequency of 1 MHz and an inverted microscope coupled to a high speed camera. Fourteen high-speed microphotographic images were acquired for each experiment using 50 ns shutter speeds. Observations of the coupled dynamics between bubbles and vessels ranging from 10 micrometer to 100 micrometer diameters under the exposure of ultrasound of peak negative pressure within the range of 1 MPa to 7.8 MPa suggest that the vessel wall dilates during bubble expansion, and invaginates during bubble contraction. A significant finding is that the ratio of invagination to distension is usually >1 and large circumferential strains can be imposed on the vessel wall during vessel invagination. In addition, the surrounding tissue response was also quantified. Based on these studies, we hypothesize that vessel invagination is the dominant mechanism for the initial induction of vascular damage via cavitation.

BACKGROUND:
High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is being developed for a range of clinical applications. Of particular interest to NASA and the military is the use of HIFU for traumatic injuries because HIFU has the unique ability to transcutaneously stop bleeding. Automation of this technology would make possible its use in remote, austere settings by personnel not specialized in medical ultrasound. Here a system to automatically detect and target bleeding is tested and reported.

METHODS:
The system uses Doppler ultrasound images from a clinical ultrasound scanner for bleeding detection and hardware for HIFU therapy. The system was tested using a moving string to simulate blood flow and targeting was visualized by Schlieren imaging to show the focusing of the HIFU acoustic waves.

RESULTS:
When instructed by the operator, a Doppler ultrasound image is acquired and processed to detect and localize the moving string, and the focus of the HIFU array is electronically adjusted to target the string. Precise and accurate targeting was verified in the Schlieren images.

CONCLUSIONS:
An automated system to detect and target simulated bleeding has been built and tested. The system could be combined with existing algorithms to detect, target, and treat clinical bleeding.

Localization of kidney stones and targeting for lithotripsy can be challenges especially with ultrasound. However, twinkling artifact has been observed where Doppler ultrasound imagers assign color to the stone. We report a preliminary investigation from our observations in a porcine model and hypothesize why this artifact occurs. Glass beads, cement stones, and human stones were surgically placed into the renal collecting system through the ureter. The stones were imaged using several transducers and ultrasound imagers. In all cases, the twinkling artifact of the stone was observed, and its appearance and radiofrequency signature were unique from those of blood flow. Calcium oxalate monohydrate stones and smooth stones were not more difficult to image, contrary to previous reports. Increasing gain or placing the focal depth distal to the stone enhanced the artifact, but other user controls showed little effect. Twinkling started at the lateral edges of the stone and spread over the stone as gain was increased. The evidence supports the hypothesis that small motions induced by radiation force or elastic waves in the stone cause changes in received backscatter, particularly at imaging angles oblique to the stone surface.

Tissue Pulsatility Imaging (TPI) is an ultrasonic technique that is being developed at the University of Washington to measure tissue displacement or strain due to blood flow over the cardiac and respiratory cycles. This technique is based in principle on plethysmography, an older non-ultrasound technology for measuring expansion of a whole limb or body part due to perfusion. TPI adapts tissue Doppler signal processing methods to measure the "plethysmographic" signal from hundreds or thousands of sample volumes in an ultrasound image plane. This paper presents a feasibility study to determine if TPI can be used to assess cerebral vasoreactivity. Ultrasound data were collected transcranially through the temporal acoustic window from four subjects before, during, and after voluntary hyperventilation. In each subject, decreases in tissue pulsatility during hyperventilation were observed that were statistically correlated with the subject's end-tidal CO₂ measurements.

Functional tissue pulsatility imaging is a new ultrasonic technique being developed to map brain function by measuring changes in tissue pulsatility as a result of changes in blood flow with neuronal activation. The technique is based in principle on plethysmography, an older, nonultrasound technology for measuring expansion of a whole limb or body part as a result of perfusion. Perfused tissue expands by a fraction of a percent early in each cardiac cycle when arterial inflow exceeds venous outflow, and it relaxes later in the cardiac cycle when venous drainage dominates. Tissue pulsatility imaging (TPI) uses tissue Doppler signal processing methods to measure this pulsatile "plethysmographic" signal from hundreds or thousands of sample volumes in an ultrasound image plane. A feasibility study was conducted to determine if TPI could be used to detect regional brain activation during a visual contrast-reversing checkerboard block paradigm study. During a study, ultrasound data were collected transcranially from the occipital lobe as a subject viewed alternating blocks of a reversing checkerboard (stimulus condition) and a static, gray screen (control condition). Multivariate analysis of variance was used to identify sample volumes with significantly different pulsatility waveforms during the control and stimulus blocks. In 7 of 14 studies, consistent regions of activation were detected from tissue around the major vessels perfusing the visual cortex.

Plethysmography has been used for over 50 years to measure gross change in tissue blood volume. Over the cardiac cycle, perfused tissue initially expands as the blood flow into the arterioles exceeds the flow through the capillary bed. Later in the cardiac cycle, the accumulated blood drains into the venous vasculature, allowing the tissue to return to its presystolic blood volume. Specific features in the plethysmographic waveform can be used to identify normal and abnormal perfusion. We are developing a Doppler strain-imaging technique to measure the local pulsatile expansion and relaxation of tissue analogous to the gross measurement of tissue volume change with conventional plethysmography. A phantom has been built to generate plethysmographic-style strains with amplitudes of less than 0.1% in a tissue-mimicking material. With Fisher's discriminant analysis, it is shown that normal and abnormal plethysmographic-style strains can be differentiated with high sensitivities using the Fourier components of the strain waveforms normalized to compensate for the variance in the strain amplitude estimate.