Researchers
from Duke University and Stanford University have designed a $10 microchip to
make a simple 3D ultrasound imaging device that produces 3D scans similar in
quality to CT or MRI scans using your regular 2D ultrasound machine.
The
researchers and physicians from Duke demonstrated their device on Oct. 31 at
the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Research Forum in
Washington, D.C.
The budget
microchip is roughly the size of a fingernail, and like a Nintendo Wii video
game controller, the chip registers the probe’s orientation, then uses software
to seamlessly stitch hundreds of individual slices of the anatomy together in
three dimensions to give an instant 3-D
model similar in quality to a CT scan or MRI. And the better the ultrasound machine
being used, the higher the quality of the generated 3D image.
The chip can be added to your regular
2D ultrasound armament by using a 3D printed clip on attachment. 3D ultrasound machines can cost
around $250,000, around five times more than their 2D counterparts.
Joshua Broder,
M.D., an emergency physician and associate professor of surgery at Duke
Health and one of the creators of the technology got the idea behind the chip
while playing Nintendo games with his son.
After working on the chip for a year, he took
sketches to Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering, connecting with
then-undergraduate Matt Morgan, and biomedical engineering instructors and
professors Carl Herickhoff and Jeremy Dahl, who have since taken positions at
Stanford where they continue to develop the device.
The team has used Duke’s own 3-D
printing labs to create a prototype, in the form of a streamlined plastic
holster that slips onto the ultrasound probe. A physician can use the probe as a
regular 2D probe or add the 3-D capability by simply snapping on a plastic
attachment containing the location-sensing microchip. To get the best 3-D
images, the team also devised a plastic stand to help steady the probe as the
user hones in on one part of the anatomy.
The microchip and the ultrasound probe
connect via computer cables to a laptop programmed for the device. As the user
scans, the computer program whips up a 3-D model in seconds.
Both Duke and Stanford are testing the
technology in clinical trials to determine how it fits in the flow of patient
care. The creators believe some of the most promising uses could be when CT
scans or MRIs are not available, in rural or developing areas, or when they are
too risky.
“Instead of looking through a keyhole
to understand what’s in the room, we can open a door and see everything in
front of us.”
This upgrade is especially important
for babies and trauma patients who cannot be moved. The team has already
received a grant from Emergency Medicine Foundation and General Electric to
conduct clinical trials for application of the device to located bleeding vessels
in trauma patients.
The quality of resulting 3D model is comparable
to images produced by a 3D sonography machine, CT scan or MRI scan.”
Clinical trials are already on the way
to test the technology in real life applications and emergency scenarios.
Here is a video in which Dr.Broder demonstrate
the device.
