Pocket-sized C-scan Ultrasonic Imaging for Bone Fractures and Foreign Bodies in Tissue

The goal of this program is to develop a portable C-Scan ultrasound system to investigate undisplaced bone fractures and contamination of wounds with foreign matter. The Sonic Window will be comparable in size to a mobile phone and is specifically designed to meet the needs of users with little or no experience in medical imaging at a fraction of the cost of currently available portable ultrasound systems. Our system will form C-Scan images (image plane parallel to skin surface) that are intuitive for novice users and display those images at the site of acquisition, allowing the user to see the image in the perspective of a clear ‘window’ through the skin into the anatomy of interest. The Sonic Window is being realized by combining a low profile 2D array, custom integrated circuits, novel beamforming and image processing algorithms implemented on a commercial Digital Signal Processor, and a LCD display. In Phase I, development efforts will focus on improving image contrast with 2D spatial compounding, investigating multidimensional visualization techniques and designing a higher frequency system. Feasibility studies with in-vitro models will demonstrate that the current prototype is capable of imaging foreign bodies in soft tissue and bone fractures.