Improved Hemorrhage Detection Technology for a Robotic HIFU Manipulator System

In this STTR, Luna Innovations, Inc., the University of Mississippi's National Center for Physical Acoustics (NCPA), and Robotics Research Corporation will develop an automated system for delivering high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to the location of a severe bleed using a robotic manipulator arm. In Phase I, Luna and the NCPA will test improved methods for locating and quantifying severe bleeds based on Luna's ultrasonic pulsed phase locked loop (PPLL) technology. These tests will determine the requirements for an integrated detection and robotic manipulator system to be developed in Phase II. As a high-resolution tool for tissue characterization, Luna's PPLL is better suited for obtaining key diagnostic parameters for locating hemorrhage sites than conventional imaging ultrasound. Specifically, the diagnostic information we seek is based only on blood location, blood flow, and the motion of tissues, including the quasi-stationary blood itself. Conventional imaging systems are not well designed for the these tasks, as blood is difficult to detect based on its backscatter properties. Even pulsed Doppler and color flow imaging, standard functions of commercial scanners, are not well suited to this task, as these functions filter out low speed flow associated with large volume flow rates over a large surface area.