Acoustoelectric imaging of deep dipoles in a human head phantom for guiding treatment of epilepsy

Andres Barragan, Chet Preston, Alex Alvarez, Tushar Bera, Yexian Qin, Martin Weinand, Willard Kasoff, Russell S. Witte

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective. This study employs a human head model with real skull to demonstrate the feasibility of transcranial acoustoelectric brain imaging (tABI) as a new modality for electrical mapping of deep dipole sources during treatment of epilepsy with much better resolution and accuracy than conventional mapping methods. Approach. This technique exploits an interaction between a focused ultrasound (US) beam and tissue resistivity to localize current source densities as deep as 63 mm at high spatial resolution (1 to 4 mm) and resolve fast time-varying currents with sub-ms precision. Main results. Detection thresholds through a thick segment of the human skull at biologically safe US intensities was below 0.5 mA and within range of strong currents generated by the human brain. Significance. This work suggests that 4D tABI may emerge as a revolutionary modality for real-time high-resolution mapping of neuronal currents for the purpose of monitoring, staging, and guiding treatment of epilepsy and other brain disorders characterized by abnormal rhythms.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number056040
JournalJournal of neural engineering
Volume17
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2020

Keywords

  • current source analysis
  • electrical brain mapping
  • electroencephalography
  • fMRI
  • inverse problem
  • seizure localization
  • ultrasound

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

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