Method of ultrasonic detection and localization of contrast agent microbubbles and method for local drug administration by using microbubble carriers
First Claim
1. A method of ultrasonic detection and localization of contrast agent microbubbles, characterized in that the decision as to whether or not the received ultrasonic signals indicate the presence of a single microbubble or a small microbubble population is made by analyzing the projections of the spectra of said received ultrasonic signals in multidimensional spaces, and by comparing such projections with the projections in said multidimensional spaces of sample control signals corresponding to known conditions of presence and/or absence of single microbubbles and/or small microbubble populations.
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Abstract
A method of ultrasonic detection and localization of contrast agent microbubbles wherein the decision as to whether or not the received ultrasonic signals indicate the presence of a single microbubble or a small microbubble population is made by analyzing the projections of the spectra of said received ultrasonic signals in multidimensional spaces, and by comparing such projections with the projections in said multidimensional spaces of sample control signals corresponding to known conditions of presence and/or absence of single microbubbles and/or small microbubble populations.
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Citations
45 Claims
- 1. A method of ultrasonic detection and localization of contrast agent microbubbles, characterized in that the decision as to whether or not the received ultrasonic signals indicate the presence of a single microbubble or a small microbubble population is made by analyzing the projections of the spectra of said received ultrasonic signals in multidimensional spaces, and by comparing such projections with the projections in said multidimensional spaces of sample control signals corresponding to known conditions of presence and/or absence of single microbubbles and/or small microbubble populations.
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2. A method of ultrasonic detection and localization of contrast agent microbubbles, which method comprises the steps of:
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(a) scanning an anatomic region in which the presence of contrast agent microbubbles is or may be foreseen, by transmitting one or more ultrasonic pulses at a first predetermined frequency in said anatomic region;
(b) receiving the reflected ultrasonic signals resulting from the transmit pulses;
(c) identifying the presence of reflected ultrasonic signals having at least one second frequency corresponding to at least the second harmonic of the first fundamental frequency of the ultrasonic transmit signals;
(d) associating said reflected ultrasonic signals having at least one second frequency corresponding to at least the second harmonic of the first fundamental frequency of the ultrasonic transmit signals, to contrast agent microbubbles, acting as reflectors;
(e) determining the position of said microbubbles in the anatomic region according to the time localization of the reflected ultrasonic signal or parts of such reflected ultrasonic signal at said at least one second frequency corresponding to the second harmonic of the first fundamental frequency of the ultrasonic transmit pulses within the duration of the whole reflected ultrasonic signal characterized in that it comprises the following additional steps;
(f) the reflected signals are projected in one or more multidimensional spaces, to highlight the evolution of the reflected signal spectrum with time and/or the phase relationships between reflected signal components having different frequencies or frequency ranges, particularly the signal components at the fundamental frequency of the transmit pulse/s and at the second harmonic of the transmit pulse/s;
(g) sample reflected ultrasonic signals are detected, by transmitting ultrasonic pulses to known tissue samples containing no single microbubble or small microbubble population and on known tissue samples containing a single bubble or a small bubble population;
(h) the sample reflected ultrasonic signals are projected in the same multidimensional space/s to highlight the evolution of the reflected signal spectrum with time and/or the phase relationships between the reflected signal components having different frequencies or frequency ranges;
(i) the projections of the sample reflected ultrasonic pulses for simple tissue and tissue having a single microbubble or a small microbubble population in the multidimensional space/s are compared and unique characteristics are defined for said projections for simple tissue and tissue having a single microbubble or a small microbubble population;
(j) the projections of reflected signals in the multidimensional space/s are analyzed to identify said diversifying characteristics defined on the basis of the comparison between the projections of sample reflected ultrasonic signals in the multidimensional space/s;
(k) a projection of the reflected signal in said multidimensional space/s being defined as deriving from a single microbubble or a small microbubble population when it has the characteristics of the projection of the sample reflected ultrasonic signal in said multidimensional space/s relating to the known sample of tissue having a single microbubble or a small microbubble population. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 42, 43)
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Specification