A Transvertebral Ultrasound Therapy Spine-Specific Phased Array: Configuration and Simulation

Abstract

The design and simulation of the performance of two phased spine-specific arrays in sonic targets spanning the thoracic spine with the goal of generating controlled foci in the spinal canal effectively. Using multi-layered ray acoustics simulation, two arrays (256 elements each, 500 kHz) were created: a fourcomponent array with dedicated components for sonicating through the paravertebral and transvertebral paths, and a twocomponent array with spine-specific adaptive focusing. Using forward simulation in neutral and flexed spines to explore methods that minimise spine-induced insertion failure, mean array efficiency (canal focus pressure/water focus pressure) was assessed. The effects of target-specific four-component array reconfiguration and lower frequency sonication (250 kHz) on array efficiency and focal measurements were investigated.