Dispersive ultrasound technology as a diagnostic device for traumatic brain injuries
First Claim
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1. A method of classifying a medium comprising:
- a) placing a transmitting transducer and a receiving transducer on opposite sides of a medium and traversing the medium with a plurality of frequency modulated ultrasound pulses between the transducers, each pulse being transmitted at a different frequency;
b) identifying, with a computer, a signal from one of the ultrasound pulses received by the receiving transducer by pulse duration, center frequency and bandwidth;
c) estimating propagation time through the medium for said signal using cross correlation with a replica of the transmitted pulse using the computer;
d) improving the estimate of the propagation time by determining when the phase of said signal changes sign by performing an interpolation based on a linear portion of the phase using the computer;
e) repeating steps (b)-(d) for each frequency of the plurality of ultrasound pulses;
f) using information derived from the plurality of ultrasound pulses to generate a dispersion pattern of the medium using the computer; and
g) using the computer to classify the medium based on characteristics of the dispersion pattern.
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Abstract
Described herein is the use of ultrasound pulses at different frequencies to track the dispersion properties of intracranial tissues which may have been altered due to traumatic or other neurological brain injury. Dispersive ultrasound does not provide imaging, but it can provide data of significant diagnostic value by using decision support systems that can be trained as a medical diagnostic system for traumatic brain injuries applications to detect specific patterns of dispersion that are associated with specific intracranial injuries.
39 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A method of classifying a medium comprising:
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a) placing a transmitting transducer and a receiving transducer on opposite sides of a medium and traversing the medium with a plurality of frequency modulated ultrasound pulses between the transducers, each pulse being transmitted at a different frequency; b) identifying, with a computer, a signal from one of the ultrasound pulses received by the receiving transducer by pulse duration, center frequency and bandwidth; c) estimating propagation time through the medium for said signal using cross correlation with a replica of the transmitted pulse using the computer; d) improving the estimate of the propagation time by determining when the phase of said signal changes sign by performing an interpolation based on a linear portion of the phase using the computer; e) repeating steps (b)-(d) for each frequency of the plurality of ultrasound pulses; f) using information derived from the plurality of ultrasound pulses to generate a dispersion pattern of the medium using the computer; and g) using the computer to classify the medium based on characteristics of the dispersion pattern. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification