Transmissive imaging and related apparatus and methods

• US 8,852,103 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2012
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BFLY Operations, Inc. (Butterfly Network, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Butterfly Network, Inc.
• Inventors: Rothberg, Jonathan M., Sanchez, Nevada J., Charvat, Gregory L., Ralston, Tyler S.
• Primary Examiner(s): ROZANSKI, MICHAEL T
• Application Number:
  US13/654,337
• Publication Number:
  US 20130116561A1
• Time in Patent Office: 720 Days
• Field of Search: 600/407, 600/438, 600/439, 600/443, 600/459, 601/2
• US Class Current: 600/438
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/320069 for ablating tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/378 using ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/164 the sensor is mounted in or on a conformable substrate or carrier
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/015 By temperature mapping of body part
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/08 Detecting organic movements or changes, e.g. tumours, cysts, swellings A61B8/02 - A61B8/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/13 Tomography A61B8/10, A61B8/12 take precedence; tomography for radiation diagnosis A61B6/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4209 by using holders, e.g. positioning frames
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4245 involving determining the position of the probe, e.g. with respect to an external reference frame or to the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4254 using sensors mounted on the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4263 using sensors not mounted on the probe, e.g. mounted on an external reference frame
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4477 using several separate ultrasound transducers or probes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4483 characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4488 the transducer being a phased array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4494 characterised by the arrangement of the transducer elements devices for short-range imaging using particular transducer elements arrangements under G01S15/8909; arrangements of transducers in generation of mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic or ultrasonic frequency B06B1/0607
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/483 involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5207 involving processing of raw data to produce diagnostic data, e.g. for generating an image reconstruction G06T11/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/56 Details of data transmission or power supply
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/565 involving data transmission via a network
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2007/0078 with multiple treatment transducers
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 7/00 Ultrasound therapy lithotripsy A61B17/22, A61B17/225; massage using supersonic vibration A61H23/00 ; using ultrasound for introducing media into the body A61M37/0092
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 7/02 : Localised ultrasound hyperthermia hyperthermia in general A61F7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 13/00 : Code division multiplex systems for frequency hopping H04B1/713

Abstract

Apparatus and methods are described that include ultrasound imaging devices, which may operate in a transmissive ultrasound imaging modality, and which may be used to detect properties of interest of a subject such as index of refraction, density and/or speed of sound. Devices suitable for performing high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), as well as HIFU and ultrasound imaging, are also described.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of radiation sources comprising a first radiation source, a second radiation source, and a third radiation source;

a plurality of radiation sensors configured to receive radiation of wavelength λ

emitted by one or more of the first, second, or third radiation sources, the plurality of radiation sensors including a first radiation sensor and a second radiation sensor, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is sparsely arranged such that a spacing between the first radiation sensor and its nearest neighboring radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is greater than λ

/2; and

processing circuitry coupled to the first radiation sensor and the second radiation sensor and configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, respective source signals emitted by the first, second, and third radiation sources,

wherein the first radiation source, the second radiation source, and the first radiation sensor lie in a first plane, and

wherein the second radiation source, the third radiation source, and the second radiation sensor lie in a second plane different than the first plane.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first radiation source is an ultrasound source.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first radiation sensor and the second radiation sensor are ultrasound radiation sensors.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, the respective source signals emitted by at least ten radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, the respective source signals emitted by at least 100 radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, the respective source signals emitted by at least 1,000 radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, the respective source signals emitted by between ten radiation sources and 10,000 radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, the respective source signals emitted by at least 1% of the radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, the respective source signals emitted by at least 10% of the radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, the respective source signals emitted by at least 25% of the radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, the respective source signals emitted by at least 50% of the radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, the respective source signals emitted by at least 75% of the radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, the respective source signals emitted by at least 90% of the radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, the respective source signals emitted by all radiation sources of the apparatus.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the plurality of radiation sources comprises at least fifty radiation sources.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radiation sources is arranged in three dimensions.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radiation sources forms an array of at least two dimensions in which the plurality of radiation sources adopts a regular spacing.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the plurality of radiation sources is arranged in three dimensions.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is arranged in at least two dimensions.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is arranged in three dimensions.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors forms an array of at least two dimensions in which the plurality of radiation sensors adopts a regular spacing.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the plurality of radiation sources forms an array of at least two dimensions, and wherein the plurality of radiation sensors forms an array of at least two dimensions.

23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radiation sources and the first and second radiation sensors are configured to remain static during operation.

24. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least some radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources are not spaced at regular intervals with respect to neighboring radiation sources.

25. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least some radiation sensors of the plurality of radiation sensors are not spaced at regular intervals with respect to neighboring radiation sensors.

26. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radiation sources are physically coupled to a first mount and wherein the first and second radiation sensors are physically coupled to a second mount.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the first mount is flexible.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the first and second mounts are configured to be independently movable.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, further comprising a detector configured to detect an orientation and/or position of one or more of the plurality of radiation sources relative to one or both of the first and second radiation sensors.

30. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second radiation sensors are disposed on a first side of a plane and wherein the plurality of radiation sources are disposed on a second side of the plane.

31. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first, second, and third radiation sources and the first and second radiation sensors are collectively configured to operate in a transmissive modality.

32. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein directivity vectors of the first, second, and third radiation sources are incident upon the first and second radiation sensors.

33. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first, second, and third radiation sources is configured to alternately operate as a radiation source and a radiation sensor.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the first, second, and third radiation sources are coupled to the processing circuitry via parallel transmit and receive signal paths, and wherein the apparatus further comprises a switch for switchably coupling the first, second, and third radiation sources to either the transmit signal path or the receive signal path.

35. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radiation sources comprises at least two distinct arrays of radiation sources.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the at least two distinct arrays of radiation sources comprises three or more distinct arrays of radiation sources.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the processing circuitry coupled to the first radiation sensor and the second radiation sensor is configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, respective source signals emitted by at least one radiation source in each of three distinct arrays of the three or more distinct arrays of radiation sources.

38. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform a heterodyning function to receive and discriminate between the respective source signals emitted by the first, second, and third radiation sources.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the processing circuitry comprises a multiplier configured to receive an output signal from the first radiation sensor and a transmission signal to be emitted from the first radiation source, and wherein the multiplier is configured to provide an output signal to an analog-to-digital converter.

40. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry comprises analog pulse compression circuitry configured to perform analog pulse compression on the respective source signals emitted by the first, second, and third radiation sources and received by the first and second radiation sensors.

41. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry comprises an amplification stage coupled directly to a detector.

42. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry comprises an amplification stage coupled to an input of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).

43. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radiation sources and the first and second radiation sensors are configured to characterize a volume, and wherein the apparatus comprises a processor configured to construct a three-dimensional (3D) image of the volume based at least partially on the respective source signals emitted by the first, second, and third radiation sources and received by the first and second radiation sensors.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the processor comprises the processing circuitry.

45. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the at least one processor is configured to construct the 3D image of the volume by:

generating a 3D image of the volume from a plurality of measurements by using a compressive sensing image reconstruction process, the plurality of measurements obtained based at least partially on the respective source signals.

46. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein using the compressive sensing image reconstruction process comprises identifying a solution to a system of linear equations relating the plurality of measurements to a property of the volume being imaged.

47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the system of linear equations represents a linear approximation to a forward operator of a three-dimensional wave propagation equation.

48. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radiation sources and the first and second radiation sensors are configured to characterize a volume, and wherein the apparatus comprises a processor configured to construct a three-dimensional (3D) temperature profile of the volume based at least partially on the respective source signals emitted by the first, second, and third radiation sources.

49. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein the processor comprises the processing circuitry.

50. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radiation sources and the plurality of radiation sensors collectively form a structure into which a subject may be inserted.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the structure is substantially a box with an open side via which the subject may be inserted, and wherein the plurality of radiation sensors form a side of the box.

52. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of ultrasound elements configured as high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) elements configured to apply HIFU.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, further comprising a support on which the plurality of radiation sources and the HIFU elements are disposed.

54. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first radiation source and the first radiation sensor are formed of different materials.

55. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the first radiation source is an ultrasound source comprising lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and wherein the first radiation sensor is an ultrasound sensor comprising polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF).

56. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spacing between the first radiation sensor and its nearest neighboring radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is greater than λ

.

57. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spacing between the first radiation sensor and its nearest neighboring radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is greater than 2λ

.

58. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spacing between the first radiation sensor and its nearest neighboring radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is greater than 3λ

.

59. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spacing between any radiation sensor in the plurality of radiation sensors and its nearest neighboring radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is greater than λ

/2.

60. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spacing between any radiation sensor in the plurality of radiation sensors and its nearest neighboring radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is greater than λ

.

61. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spacing between any radiation sensor in the plurality of radiation sensors and its nearest neighboring radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is greater than 2λ

.

62. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spacing between any radiation sensor in the plurality of radiation sensors and its nearest neighboring radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is greater than 3λ

.

63. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spacing between any radiation sensor in the plurality of radiation sensors and its nearest neighboring radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is greater than λ

/2 and less than or equal to 3λ

.

64. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of ultrasound elements disposed on a same substrate as the plurality of radiation sensors, the plurality of ultrasound elements being different than the plurality of radiation sensors, the plurality of ultrasound elements being configured as high intensity focused ultrasound elements.

65. An apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of radiation sources configured to emit respective source radiation signals incident upon a volume to be characterized, the volume spanning orthogonal X, Y, and Z axes, the plurality of radiation sources occupying multiple locations in the X direction and multiple locations in the Y direction;

a plurality of radiation sensors, including a first radiation sensor, separated from the plurality of radiation sources along the Z direction and configured to sense the respective source radiation signals emitted by the plurality of radiation sources, the plurality of radiation sensors occupying multiple locations in the X direction and multiple locations in the Y direction, the plurality of radiation sensors configured to receive radiation of wavelength λ

emitted by one or more of the plurality of radiation sources, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is sparsely arranged such that a spacing between the first radiation sensor and its nearest neighboring radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is greater than λ

/2; and

processing circuitry coupled to the plurality of radiation sensors and configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the plurality of radiation sensors, the respective source signals of the plurality of radiation sources.

66. The apparatus of claim 65, wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one additional radiation sensor in addition to the plurality of radiation sensors.

67. An apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of radiation sources configured to emit respective source radiation signals directed to be incident across a surface area of a subject;

a plurality of radiation sensors configured to receive radiation of wavelength λ

emitted by one or more of the plurality of radiation sources, the plurality of radiation sensors including first and second radiation sensors each configured to sense the respective source radiation signals, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is sparsely arranged such that a spacing between the first radiation sensor and its nearest neighboring radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is greater than λ

/2; and

processing circuitry coupled to the first and second radiation sensors and configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, the respective source radiation signals emitted by the plurality of radiation sources.

68. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein a first radiation source of the plurality of radiation sources is an ultrasound source.

69. The apparatus of claim 68, wherein the first radiation sensor and the second radiation sensor are ultrasound radiation sensors.

70. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the plurality of radiation sources comprises at least ten radiation sources.

71. The apparatus of claim 70, wherein the plurality of radiation sources comprises at least 100 radiation sources.

72. The apparatus of claim 71, wherein the plurality of radiation sources comprises at least 1,000 radiation sources.

73. The apparatus of claim 70, wherein the plurality of radiation sources comprises between ten radiation sources and 10,000 radiation sources.

74. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the plurality of radiation sources is arranged in three dimensions.

75. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the plurality of radiation sources forms an array of at least two dimensions in which the plurality of radiation sources adopts a regular spacing.

76. The apparatus of claim 75, wherein the plurality of radiation sources is arranged in three dimensions.

77. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is arranged in at least two dimensions.

78. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is arranged in three dimensions.

79. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors forms an array of at least two dimensions in which the plurality of radiation sensors adopts a regular spacing.

80. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein the plurality of radiation sources forms an array of at least two dimensions, and wherein the plurality of radiation sensors forms an array of at least two dimensions.

81. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the plurality of radiation sources and the first and second radiation sensors are configured to remain static during operation.

82. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein at least some radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources are not spaced at regular intervals with respect to neighboring radiation sources.

83. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein at least some radiation sensors of the plurality of radiation sensors are not spaced at regular intervals with respect to neighboring radiation sensors.

84. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the plurality of radiation sources are physically coupled to a first mount and wherein the first and second radiation sensors are physically coupled to a second mount.

85. The apparatus of claim 84, wherein the first mount is flexible.

86. The apparatus of claim 84, wherein the first and second mounts are configured to be independently movable.

87. The apparatus of claim 86, further comprising a detector configured to detect an orientation and/or position of the plurality of radiation sources relative to the first and second radiation sensors.

88. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the first and second radiation sensors are disposed on a first side of a plane and wherein the plurality of radiation sources are disposed on a second side of the plane.

89. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the plurality of radiation sources and the first and second radiation sensors are collectively configured to operate in a transmissive modality.

90. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein directivity vectors of first, second, and third radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources are incident upon the first and second radiation sensors.

91. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein at least one radiation source of the plurality of radiation sources is configurable to alternately operate as a radiation source and a radiation sensor.

92. The apparatus of claim 91, wherein the at least one radiation source is coupled to the processing circuitry via parallel transmit and receive signal paths, and wherein the apparatus further comprises a switch for switchably coupling the at least one radiation source to either the transmit signal path or the receive signal path.

93. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the plurality of radiation sources comprises at least two distinct arrays of radiation sources.

94. The apparatus of claim 93, wherein the at least two distinct arrays of radiation sources comprises three or more distinct arrays of radiation sources.

95. The apparatus of claim 94, wherein the processing circuitry coupled to the first radiation sensor and the second radiation sensor is configured to receive and discriminate between, for each of the first and second radiation sensors, respective source signals emitted by at least one radiation source in each of three distinct arrays of the three or more distinct arrays of radiation sources.

96. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform a heterodyning function to detect and discriminate the respective source signals.

97. The apparatus of claim 96, wherein the processing circuitry comprises a multiplier configured to receive an output signal from the first radiation sensor and a transmission signal to be emitted from a first radiation source of the plurality of radiation sources, and wherein the multiplier is configured to provide an output signal to an analog-to-digital converter.

98. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the processing circuitry comprises analog pulse compression circuitry configured to perform analog pulse compression on the respective source signals.

99. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the processing circuitry comprises an amplification stage coupled directly to a detector.

100. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the processing circuitry comprises an amplification stage coupled to an input of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).

101. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the plurality of radiation sources and the first and second radiation sensors are configured to characterize at least part of the subject, and wherein the apparatus comprises a processor configured to construct a three-dimensional (3D) image of the part of the subject based at least partially on the respective source signals.

102. The apparatus of claim 101, wherein the processor comprises the processing circuitry.

103. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the plurality of radiation sources and the first and second radiation sensors are configured to characterize at least part of the subject, and wherein the apparatus comprises a processor configured to construct a three-dimensional (3D) temperature profile of the part of the subject based at least partially on the respective source signals.

104. The apparatus of claim 103, wherein the processor comprises the processing circuitry.

105. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the surface area is between approximately 1 cm² and approximately 100 cm².

106. The apparatus of claim 105, wherein the surface area is between approximately 50 cm² and approximately 100 cm².

107. An apparatus, comprising:

three radiation sources arranged in a multi-dimensional, non-linear arrangement and configured to produce respective source signals;

a plurality of radiation sensors, including a first radiation sensor, configured to receive radiation of wavelength λ

emitted by one or more of the three radiation sources, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is sparsely arranged such that a spacing between the first radiation sensor and its nearest neighboring radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is greater than λ

/2; and

processing circuitry coupled to the plurality of radiation sensors and configured to receive and discriminate between, for at least one radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors, the respective source signals produced by the three radiation sources.

108. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein a first radiation source of the three radiation sources is an ultrasound source.

109. The apparatus of claim 108, wherein the at least one radiation sensor is an ultrasound radiation sensor.

110. The apparatus of claim 107, further comprising a plurality of radiation sources including the three radiation sources, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for the at least one radiation sensor, the respective source signals emitted by at least ten radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

111. The apparatus of claim 110, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for the at least one radiation sensor, the respective source signals emitted by at least 100 radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

112. The apparatus of claim 111, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for the at least one radiation sensor, the respective source signals emitted by at least 1,000 radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

113. The apparatus of claim 110, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for the at least one radiation sensor, the respective source signals emitted by between ten radiation sources and 10,000 radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

114. The apparatus of claim 107, further comprising a plurality of radiation sources including the three radiation sources, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for the at least one radiation sensor, the respective source signals emitted by at least 1% of the radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

115. The apparatus of claim 114, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for the at least one radiation sensor, the respective source signals emitted by at least 10% of the radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

116. The apparatus of claim 115, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for the at least one radiation sensor, the respective source signals emitted by at least 25% of the radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

117. The apparatus of claim 116, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for the at least one radiation sensor, the respective source signals emitted by at least 50% of the radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

118. The apparatus of claim 117, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for the at least one radiation sensor, the respective source signals emitted by at least 75% of the radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

119. The apparatus of claim 118, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for the at least one radiation sensor, the respective source signals emitted by at least 90% of the radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources.

120. The apparatus of claim 119, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and discriminate between, for the at least one radiation sensor, the respective source signals emitted by all radiation sources of the apparatus.

121. The apparatus of claim 120, wherein the plurality of radiation sources comprises at least fifty radiation sources.

122. The apparatus of claim 107, further comprising a fourth radiation source, wherein the four radiation sources are arranged in three dimensions.

123. The apparatus of claim 107, comprising a plurality of radiation sources including the three radiation sources, wherein the plurality of radiation sources forms an array of at least two dimensions in which the plurality of radiation sources adopts a regular spacing.

124. The apparatus of claim 123, wherein the plurality of radiation sources is arranged in three dimensions.

125. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is arranged in at least two dimensions.

126. The apparatus of claim 125, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is arranged in three dimensions.

127. The apparatus of claim 125, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors forms an array of at least two dimensions in which the plurality of radiation sensors adopts a regular spacing.

128. The apparatus of claim 125, comprising a plurality of radiation sources including the three radiation sources, wherein the plurality of radiation sources forms an array of at least two dimensions, and wherein the plurality of radiation sensors forms an array of at least two dimensions.

129. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the three radiation sources and the plurality of radiation sensors are configured to remain static during operation.

130. The apparatus of claim 107, comprising a plurality of radiation sources including the three radiation sources, wherein at least some radiation sources of the plurality of radiation sources are not spaced at regular intervals with respect to neighboring radiation sources.

131. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein at least some radiation sensors of the plurality of radiation sensors are not spaced at regular intervals with respect to neighboring radiation sensors.

132. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the three radiation sources are physically coupled to a first mount and wherein the plurality of radiation sensors are physically coupled to a second mount.

133. The apparatus of claim 132, wherein the first mount is flexible.

134. The apparatus of claim 132, wherein the first and second mounts are configured to be independently movable.

135. The apparatus of claim 134, further comprising a detector configured to detect an orientation and/or position of the three radiation sources relative to the plurality of radiation sensors.

136. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors are disposed on a first side of a plane and wherein the three radiation sources are disposed on a second side of the plane.

137. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the three radiation sources and the plurality of radiation sensors are collectively configured to operate in a transmissive modality.

138. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein directivity vectors of the three radiation sources are incident upon first and second radiation sensors of the plurality of radiation sensors.

139. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein at least one radiation source of the three radiation sources is configurable to alternately operate as a radiation source and a radiation sensor.

140. The apparatus of claim 139, wherein the at least one radiation source is coupled to the processing circuitry via parallel transmit and receive signal paths, and wherein the apparatus further comprises a switch for switchably coupling the at least one radiation source to either the transmit signal path or the receive signal path.

141. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the apparatus comprises at least two distinct arrays of radiation sources, and wherein each of the three radiation sources belongs to at least one of the at least two distinct arrays.

142. The apparatus of claim 141, wherein the at least two distinct arrays of radiation sources comprises three or more distinct arrays of radiation sources.

143. The apparatus of claim 142, wherein the processing circuitry coupled to the plurality of radiation sensors is configured to receive and discriminate between, for the at least one radiation sensor, respective source signals emitted by at least one radiation source in each of three distinct arrays of the three or more distinct arrays of radiation sources.

144. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform a heterodyning function to detect and discriminate the respective source signals.

145. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the processing circuitry comprises a multiplier configured to receive an output signal from the first radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors and a transmission signal to be emitted from a first radiation source of the three radiation sources, and wherein the multiplier is configured to provide an output signal to an analog-to-digital converter.

146. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the processing circuitry comprises analog pulse compression circuitry configured to perform analog pulse compression on the respective source signals.

147. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the processing circuitry comprises an amplification stage coupled directly to a detector.

148. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the processing circuitry comprises an amplification stage coupled to an input of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).

149. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the three radiation sources and the plurality of radiation sensors are configured to characterize at least part of a subject, and wherein the apparatus comprises a processor configured to construct a three-dimensional (3D) image of the part of the subject based at least partially on the respective source signals.

150. The apparatus of claim 149, wherein the processor comprises the processing circuitry.

151. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the three radiation sources and the plurality of radiation sensors are configured to characterize at least part of a subject, and wherein the apparatus comprises a processor configured to construct a three-dimensional (3D) temperature profile of the part of the subject based at least partially on the respective source signals.

152. The apparatus of claim 151, wherein the processor comprises the processing circuitry.

153. An apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of radiation sources arranged nonlinearly in a first plane or three-dimensional space and configured to emit respective source signals through a volume to be characterized;

a plurality of radiation sensors, including a first radiation sensor, arranged nonlinearly in a second plane or three-dimensional space and configured to oppose the first plane or three-dimensional space, and the volume, wherein each of the plurality of radiation sensors is configured to sense the source signals emitted by each of the plurality of radiation sources after the source signals pass through the volume, wherein each of the plurality of radiation sensors is configured to receive radiation of wavelength λ

emitted by one or more of the plurality of radiation sources, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is sparsely arranged such that a spacing between the first radiation sensor and its nearest neighboring radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is greater than λ

/2; and

processing circuitry coupled to the plurality of radiation sensors and configured to receive and discriminate between the source signals sensed by the plurality of radiation sensors, the received signals being indicative of at least one characteristic of the volume.

154. The apparatus of claim 153, wherein the plurality of radiation sources is arranged nonlinearly in a plane.

155. The apparatus of claim 154, wherein the plane is the first plane, and wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is arranged nonlinearly in the second plane.

156. The apparatus of claim 154, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is arranged nonlinearly in a three-dimensional space.

157. The apparatus of claim 153, wherein the plurality of radiation sources is arranged nonlinearly in a three-dimensional space.

158. The apparatus of claim 157, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is arranged nonlinearly in a plane.

159. The apparatus of claim 157, wherein the three-dimensional space is a first three-dimensional space, and wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is arranged nonlinearly in a second three-dimensional space.

160. The apparatus of claim 153, wherein:

the received signals are indicative of the appearance of the volume; and

the apparatus further comprises image processing circuitry configured to generate a three-dimensional image of the volume based on the received signals.

161. The apparatus of claim 153, wherein the at least one characteristic of the volume is a density of the volume.

162. The apparatus of claim 153, wherein the at least one characteristic of the volume is a refractive index of the volume.

163. The apparatus of claim 153, wherein the plurality of radiation sources includes between ten and 10,000 radiation sources.

164. The apparatus of claim 153, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors includes between ten and 10,000 radiation sensors.

165. The apparatus of claim 153, wherein the apparatus comprises a processor configured to construct a three-dimensional (3D) image of the volume based at least partially on the received signals.

166. The apparatus of claim 165, wherein the processor comprises the processing circuitry.

167. The apparatus of claim 153, wherein the apparatus comprises a processor configured to construct a three-dimensional (3D) temperature profile of the volume based at least partially on the received signals.

168. The apparatus of claim 167, wherein the processor comprises the processing circuitry.

169. An apparatus comprising:

multiple arrays of ultrasound sources configured to emit respective source signals;

an array of ultrasound sensors, including a first ultrasound sensor, configured to sense the respective source signals and receive radiation of wavelength λ

emitted by one or more ultrasound sources in the multiple arrays of ultrasound sources, wherein the array of ultrasound sensors is sparsely arranged such that a spacing between the first ultrasound sensor and its nearest neighboring ultrasound sensor in the array of ultrasound sensors is greater than λ

/2; and

processing circuitry coupled to the array of ultrasound sensors and configured to receive and discriminate between, for at least one ultrasound sensor of the array of ultrasound sensors, the respective source signals of at least one ultrasound source from each of at least two arrays of the multiple arrays of ultrasound sources.

170. The apparatus of claim 169, wherein the multiple arrays of ultrasound sources consist of two arrays of ultrasound sources.

171. The apparatus of claim 169, wherein the multiple arrays of ultrasound sources comprise three arrays of ultrasound sources.

172. The apparatus of claim 171, wherein the three arrays of ultrasound sources and the array of ultrasound sensors are configured, in combination, to substantially surround a subject.

173. The apparatus of claim 169, wherein the multiple arrays of ultrasound sources comprise four arrays of ultrasound sources.

174. The apparatus of claim 173, wherein the four arrays of ultrasound sources and the array of ultrasound sensors are configured, in combination, to substantially form an imaging structure configured to receive a subject.

175. An apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of N×

M radiation sources forming a two-dimensional or three-dimensional radiation source arrangement and configured to produce a first plurality of N×

M respective source signals, wherein N is greater than or equal to M;

a plurality of X×

Y radiation sensors, including a first radiation sensor, forming a two-dimensional or three-dimensional radiation sensor arrangement, the plurality of radiation sensors configured to receive radiation of wavelength λ

emitted by one or more of the plurality of radiation sources, wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is sparsely arranged such that a spacing between the first radiation sensor and its nearest neighboring radiation sensor of the plurality of radiation sensors is greater than λ

/2; and

processing circuitry coupled to the plurality of radiation sensors and configured to discriminate between greater than (X×

Y×

N) received signals from the N×

M respective source signals.

176. The apparatus of claim 175, wherein at least one of the plurality of radiation sensors is an ultrasound sensor and wherein at least one of the (X×

Y×

N) received signals is an ultrasound signal.

177. The apparatus of claim 175, wherein the plurality of radiation sources is a plurality of ultrasound sources and wherein the plurality of radiation sensors is a plurality of ultrasound sensors.

178. The apparatus of claim 175, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to discriminate between up to (X×

Y×

N×

M) received signals from the N×

M respective source signals.

179. The apparatus of claim 178, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to discriminate between approximately (X×

Y×

N×

M) received signals from the N×

M respective source signals.

180. The apparatus of claim 178, wherein N=M=X=Y.

181. The apparatus of claim 175, wherein N=M=X=Y.

182. The apparatus of claim 175, wherein the plurality of N×

M radiation sources are configured to produce substantially concurrently the first plurality of N×

M respective source signals.

183. The apparatus of claim 175, comprising a processor configured to construct a three-dimensional (3D) image of a volume based at least partially on the received signals.

184. The apparatus of claim 183, wherein the processor comprises the processing circuitry.

185. The apparatus of claim 175, comprising a processor configured to construct a three-dimensional (3D) temperature profile of a volume based at least partially on the received signals.

186. The apparatus of claim 185, wherein the processor comprises the processing circuitry.