ESTIMATION OF ALIGNMENT PARAMETERS IN MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-GUIDED ULTRASOUND FOCUSING
First Claim
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1. A method for calibrating a magnetic-resonance-guided focused-ultrasound system, comprising:
- (a) providing a phased array of ultrasound transducers, the array having at least one magnetic resonance (MR) tracker associated therewith at a fixed relative position with respect thereto;
(b) establishing MR coordinates of the MR trackers;
(c) for each of a plurality of sonication schemes, (i) creating an ultrasound focus, and (ii) establishing parameters indicative of MR coordinates of the ultrasound focus; and
,(d) based at least in part on the parameters, determining a geometric relationship between the ultrasound transducers and the MR trackers.
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Abstract
A magnetic-resonance-guided focused ultrasound system may be calibrated by generating ultrasound foci using ultrasound transducers, establishing coordinates of the foci and of magnetic-resonance trackers associated with the transducers, and determining a geometric relationship between the trackers and the transducers.
130 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for calibrating a magnetic-resonance-guided focused-ultrasound system, comprising:
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(a) providing a phased array of ultrasound transducers, the array having at least one magnetic resonance (MR) tracker associated therewith at a fixed relative position with respect thereto; (b) establishing MR coordinates of the MR trackers; (c) for each of a plurality of sonication schemes, (i) creating an ultrasound focus, and (ii) establishing parameters indicative of MR coordinates of the ultrasound focus; and
,(d) based at least in part on the parameters, determining a geometric relationship between the ultrasound transducers and the MR trackers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for operating a magnetic-resonance-guided focused-ultrasound system, comprising:
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(a) providing a phased array of ultrasound transducers, the array having at least one magnetic resonance (MR) tracker associated therewith at a fixed relative position with respect thereto; (b) establishing MR coordinates of the MR trackers; (c) for each of a plurality of sonication schemes, (i) creating an ultrasound focus, and (ii) establishing parameters indicative of MR coordinates of the ultrasound focus; (d) based at least in part on the parameters, determining a geometric relationship between the ultrasound transducers and the MR trackers; and (e) operating the magnetic-resonance-guided focused-ultrasound system by focusing ultrasound into a target region having MR coordinates, based on the geometric relationship.
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17. A system for calibrating a magnetic-resonance-guided ultrasound-focusing system comprising:
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(a) a phased array of ultrasound transducers, the array having at least one magnetic resonance (MR) tracker associated therewith at a fixed relative position with respect thereto; (b) an MR imaging apparatus; and (c) a control facility for (i) driving the phased array according to a sonication scheme so as to generate an ultrasound focus, (ii) receiving MR imaging data indicative of MR coordinates of the ultrasound focus and the MR trackers, and (iii) determining a geometric relationship between the ultrasound transducers and the MR trackers based, at least in part, on the MR imaging data. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A magnetic-resonance-guided ultrasound-focusing system comprising:
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(a) a phased array of ultrasound transducers, the array having at least one magnetic resonance (MR) tracker associated therewith at a fixed relative position with respect thereto; (b) an MR imaging apparatus; (c) a user interface facilitating selection of a target region in MR coordinates; and (d) a control facility for (i) driving the phased array according to a sonication scheme so as to generate an ultrasound focus, (ii) receiving MR imaging data indicative of MR coordinates of the ultrasound focus and the MR trackers, (iii) determining a geometric relationship between the ultrasound transducers and the MR trackers based, at least in part, on the MR imaging data, and (iv) operating the magnetic-resonance-guided focused-ultrasound system by focusing ultrasound into the target region based on the geometric relationship.
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Specification