Ultrasonics最新文献

{"title":"Safety and efficacy of transcranial ultrasound stimulation for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial","authors":"Jong-Ling Fuh ,&nbsp;Shuu-Jiun Wang ,&nbsp;Pei-Ning Wang ,&nbsp;Hsiu-Mei Wu ,&nbsp;Wei-Shen Su ,&nbsp;Hsin-Mei Lin ,&nbsp;Feng-Yi Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107844","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107844","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) has emerged as a potential neuromodulatory intervention for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This pilot randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated TUS’s safety and preliminary efficacy in patients with mild AD. Patients aged 50–90 years were enrolled and randomly assigned at a 2:1 ratio to receive TUS treatment for 30 sessions (15 min/day, 5 days/week for 6 weeks) or a placebo procedure. Safety was monitored through magnetic resonance imaging, adverse event reporting, and laboratory assessments. Efficacy was assessed with the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale–cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Nine of 30 patients screened were enrolled (six TUS, three placebo). All patients completed the study, and no serious clinical or radiographic adverse events related to TUS were observed. At 52 weeks, the change in ADAS-cog score from baseline remained relatively stable in the TUS group compared to worsening in the placebo group (0.5 ± 4.7 vs. 5.0 ± 4.0, p = 0.237), particularly in the memory domain. The change in MMSE score from baseline showed a significant benefit in the TUS group at 24 weeks compared to placebo (2.2 ± 2.2 vs. −3.0 ± 2.6, p &lt; 0.05), and this improvement persisted to 52 weeks. This study demonstrates the safety and feasibility of repeated TUS sessions in AD and suggests potential benefits in preserving cognitive function. Larger, adequately powered trials are required to validate these preliminary findings and further define the therapeutic potential of TUS in AD.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23522,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasonics","volume":"159 ","pages":"Article 107844"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145222884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of a travelling/standing wave switching acoustic manipulation platform for ICF capsules rotation and sorting","authors":"Haoren Feng ,&nbsp;Caiguang Song ,&nbsp;Yifan Ma,&nbsp;Xuran Yan,&nbsp;Liang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107839","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107839","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) achieves hydrogen isotope fusion by compressing ICF capsules to extreme densities and temperatures. The surface quality of the capsules significantly affects laser focusing and energy transfer, making precise surface inspection critical for successful fusion. However, traditional manipulation platforms often rely on mechanical contact, which risks damaging the fragile capsules and compromising inspection accuracy. To address this, a novel travelling/standing wave switching acoustic manipulation platform is proposed for non-destructive capsule inspection. The platform consists of a vibrator and a Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) channel. The vibrator utilizes two piezoelectric ceramics to excite its resonance modes. One piezoelectric ceramic excites a travelling wave mode and creates a rotating travelling wave acoustic field in the water, thus driving the capsule to rotate at the center of the water. The second piezoelectric ceramic excites two additional standing wave modes of different orders, establishing a standing wave with distinct distribution characteristics in the water. Under the influence of these two acoustic fields, the ICF capsule exhibits varying migration distances. By designing a PDMS channel with a collection chamber, lateral forces at the liquid surface are introduced into the acoustic field, facilitating the migration and capture of the ICF capsule into the collection chamber. Through switching between a travelling wave mode and two standing wave modes, the proposed acoustic manipulation platform allows for precise control of the capsule rotation and mass sorting. A general simulation method for piezoelectric acoustic manipulation devices is also developed, incorporating vibration mode acoustic field, acoustic streaming field, and particle tracking simulations. These simulations validated the feasibility of the proposed rotation and sorting scheme and determined the size parameters of the acoustic manipulation platform. Experimental results demonstrate that the platform can achieve precise rotation and quality sorting of capsules, proving its non-destructive, efficient, high-precision, and easy-to-operate advantages, with promising applications in ICF capsule inspection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23522,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasonics","volume":"159 ","pages":"Article 107839"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145252945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A comparative evaluation of two subharmonic-aided pressure estimation (SHAPE) analysis methods","authors":"Hailee Mayer ,&nbsp;Priscilla Machado ,&nbsp;Trang Vu ,&nbsp;Annalisa Berzigotti ,&nbsp;Jaume Bosch ,&nbsp;Elton Dajti ,&nbsp;Antonina Antonenko ,&nbsp;Kirk Wallace ,&nbsp;Flemming Forsberg","doi":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107840","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107840","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pressure measurement in clinical practice is a valuable tool for diagnostic evaluation, especially in diseases such as portal hypertension. Currently, portal pressures are measured by invasive hepatic vein catheterization, posing risks to patients, and limiting how often measurements can be obtained. Subharmonic-aided pressure estimation (SHAPE) is an ultrasound-based technique that leverages ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) to estimate changes in hydrostatic pressure. UCAs act as nonlinear oscillators when exposed to high enough acoustic pressures (typically &gt; 200 kPa) and produce significant energy components ranging from subharmonics to higher harmonics. Tissues do not generate significant subharmonic components, thus making it the optimal component for SHAPE. SHAPE is performed using subharmonic imaging complimented by an acoustic pressure optimization algorithm to induce the highest sensitivity to hydrostatic pressure in the UCAs. Traditionally, multiple acquisitions of contrast clips are used to identify the subharmonic amplitude and calculate SHAPE parameters, but recently, a faster method of SHAPE has been proposed, utilizing only the acoustic pressure optimization algorithm to obtain subharmonic amplitudes. The objective of this work is to compare the two methods, SHAPE and fast-SHAPE, in the same patients, to explore the utility of fast-SHAPE.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23522,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasonics","volume":"159 ","pages":"Article 107840"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145222879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Machine learning inverse surrogates for damage identification in plates based on Lamb waves","authors":"Gabriel L.S. Silva ,&nbsp;Bernardo F. Junqueira ,&nbsp;Daniel A. Castello ,&nbsp;Ricardo Leiderman","doi":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107838","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107838","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This work proposes a black-box purely data-driven strategy for structural damage identification concerning localized damaged regions in plate-like structures. The proposed strategy is based on Convolution Neural Networks in the framework of a supervised learning regression task. The relationships between the estimated and target damage parameters are investigated, focusing on the physical interpretability of the damage recovery results. The positional parameters are found to be much more easily estimated than those describing damage size and damage intensity, in accordance with the literature where similar parameterizations are considered. The high accuracy with which it is possible to estimate the positional parameters explains, in part, the many successful approaches found in literature where damage localization is treated as a classification problem. Some numerical analyses are shown for a convolutional neural network architecture with diverse damage scenarios in an elastic plate considering Lamb waves, three actuators and 16 sensors. The first surrogate inverse model training considers homogeneous material properties and the second one considers non-homogeneous material properties. Results are evaluated using a set of overlap metrics, which help identify both the accuracy and the limitations of the inverse surrogates in damage recovery. The inverse surrogate trained with non-homogeneous material properties proved robust with respect to system variability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23522,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasonics","volume":"159 ","pages":"Article 107838"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145233595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Composite GW baseline enabled large range temperature compensation method based on singular value decomposition and ADALINE network","authors":"Yuanqiang Ren,&nbsp;Zhizhong Zhang,&nbsp;Shenfang Yuan,&nbsp;Lei Qiu","doi":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107836","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107836","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Guided wave (GW) based structural health monitoring (SHM) technology has been widely researched and applied in many engineering fields, especially in the aerospace field. However, environmental and operational conditions (EOCs) of structure like temperature variation may cause significant influence on GW signals and reduce the monitoring accuracy and reliability, which has become a major factor that hinders this technology from real applications. This paper proposes for the first time a singular value decomposition (SVD) and adaptive filter linear neural (ADALINE) network based data-driven method to compensate temperature variation caused influence on GW signal. By extracting singular vector matrices from baseline signals to train the network, the traditional ADALINE method’s dependence on signal linear correlation is eliminated. The composite baseline set composed of the generated weight matrices and one selected stored baseline signal can achieve accurate temperature compensation over a large range temperature. In order to verify the feasibility of the proposed method, experimental validations are performed on a composite skin structure under −10 °C ∼ 50 °C temperature environment. By using a stored baseline signal at −10 °C and the corresponding weights, compensation signals are accurately generated at different temperatures, in which the maximum temperature interval reaches 60 °C. The maximum errors in amplitude and phase of the compensation signal are less than −38 dB and −50 dB, which also shows a great potential for larger temperature interval of compensation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23522,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasonics","volume":"159 ","pages":"Article 107836"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145259348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cortical bone parameters measured at the one-third distal radius obtained with axial transmission and HR-pQCT compared with anthropometric data in a representative population","authors":"Jean-Gabriel Minonzio ,&nbsp;Donatien Ramiandrisoa ,&nbsp;Sylvie Fernandez ,&nbsp;Christine Chappard ,&nbsp;Martine Cohen-Solal","doi":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107829","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107829","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fragility fractures remain an important health issue, in the context of aging populations. Ultrasonic measurement of cortical bone thickness (Ct.Th) and porosity (Ct.Po) at peripheral sites (forearm or leg) has been shown to be predictive of non-vertebral fragility fractures, with performance comparable with X-ray gold standard (DXA). Ultrasonic parameters (Ct.Th and Ct.Po) were measured using a Bi-Directional Axial Transmission (BDAT) device at the one-third distal radius. These values were validated, compared with site matched measurement of Ct.Th and volumetric Bone Mineral Density (Ct.vBMD) obtained with High Resolution peripheral Computed Tomography (HR-pQCT). Sixty-six participants (41 women, 25 men), aged 18 to 87 years old, with Body Mass Index (BMI) ranging from 16 to 30 kg.m⁻², were included. Significant linear correlations (<span><math><mrow><mi>p</mi><mo>&lt;</mo><mn>0</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>01</mn></mrow></math></span>) were observed considering regular measurements: Ct.Th decreases with age and increases with Body Surface Area (BSA), height and weight. Opposite variations were observed for Ct.Po. Irregular measurements were associated with significantly older participants (<span><math><mrow><mn>71</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>10</mn></mrow></math></span> <em>vs</em> <span><math><mrow><mn>49</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>17</mn></mrow></math></span> y.o.) and with thinner (<span><math><mrow><mn>2</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>3</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>0</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>5</mn></mrow></math></span> <em>vs</em> <span><math><mrow><mn>3</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>0</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>6</mn><mspace></mspace><mi>mm</mi></mrow></math></span>) and more porous (<span><math><mrow><mn>10</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>9</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>3</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>5</mn></mrow></math></span> <em>vs</em> <span><math><mrow><mn>8</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>6</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>3</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>3</mn></mrow></math></span> %) cortical bone with respect to regular measurements (<span><math><mrow><mi>p</mi><mo>&lt;</mo><mn>0</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>002</mn></mrow></math></span>), while no significant differences were observed for other anthropometric data. It suggests that measurement irregularities can be associated with the trabecularization process. The integration of these reference values, with respect to anthropometric data (height, weight, BSA), should improve the detection of people at risk of fragility fractures using ultrasonic devices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23522,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasonics","volume":"159 ","pages":"Article 107829"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145204484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Three-dimensional single beam nano-acoustic tweezer using ring-shaped ultrahigh-frequency ultrasonic needle transducer","authors":"Hae Gyun Lim ,&nbsp;Changhan Yoon","doi":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107833","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107833","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Acoustic tweezers use sound waves to manipulate bioparticles and cells, offering safety benefits due to ultrasound’s deep penetration. However, traditional single-beam acoustic tweezers (SBAT) struggle with 3D trapping and spatial resolution due to strong axial scattering radiation forces and limited frequencies. Here, we address these challenges by developing a ring-shaped ultra-high frequency ultrasonic needle transducer (RS-UHF-NT), enabling 3D single-cell trapping, nanoparticle manipulation, and direct targeting. The transducer’s ring-shaped design with a central hole minimizes near-field axial scattering radiation forces, allowing 3D trapping, while the ultra-high frequency improves spatial resolution allowing nanoparticle manipulation. Additionally, the needle configuration enhances penetration depth by reducing the contact area, providing a direct approach to the target. Experimental results confirm SBAT’s clinical potential for 3D nano-drug manipulation using the RS-UHF-NT.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23522,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasonics","volume":"158 ","pages":"Article 107833"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145213800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A high-performance longitudinal–bending ultrasonic vibration horn: structural innovation and dynamic testing","authors":"Tingting Wang ,&nbsp;Peng Yao ,&nbsp;Shuoshuo Qu ,&nbsp;Dongkai Chu ,&nbsp;Peifa Zhou ,&nbsp;Qingwei Wang ,&nbsp;Hongtao Zhu ,&nbsp;Bin Zou ,&nbsp;Chuanzhen Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107835","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107835","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In rotary machining, cutting tools are generally designed as axisymmetric structures to ensure dynamic balance. Traditional longitudinal–bending composite ultrasonic vibration horns with single-source excitation feature non-axisymmetric configurations due to the eccentric placement of mass blocks. Owing to the significant mass eccentricity, such horns cannot achieve dynamic balance merely by adjusting counterweight holes. As a result, these longitudinal–bending composite vibration horns are unsuitable for application in rotary ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding (RUVAG) systems. However, various non-axisymmetric structures, such as those resembling cam-crank mechanisms, have been successfully utilized in rotary motion. These configurations achieve dynamic balance through ingenious structural designs and strategic spatial distribution. Inspired by this principle, a novel design was proposed to enable longitudinal–bending composite vibration in a non-axisymmetric horn structure, while simultaneously satisfying the dynamic balancing requirements during rotation. By integrating dynamic balancing theory with wave theory, the horn structure was mathematically modeled and optimized through finite element analysis. Experimental investigations were conducted to validate the vibration performance of the horn and to evaluate the effects of cam geometry and ultrasonic generator power on its vibration behavior. In the present study, two cam-profile horns with distinct geometric dimensions were designed and manufactured. The experimentally measured resonant frequencies were 21,640 Hz and 21,517 Hz, exhibiting relative errors of 0.478 % and 0.728 %, respectively, when compared to the simulated results. The measured longitudinal vibration amplitudes were 1.74 μm and 5.14 μm, while the corresponding bending amplitudes were 0.24 μm and 2.89 μm. The relative errors between the experimental and simulated amplitudes were 7.15 %, 8.86 %, 11.11 %, and 13.77 %, respectively. Experimental results demonstrate that the cam dimensions of the cam-profile horn significantly influence both longitudinal and bending vibration amplitudes. Specifically, increasing the cam ratio leads to enhanced vibration amplitudes. Moreover, elevating the output power of the ultrasonic generator further amplifies both modes of vibration. The proposed cam-profile horn exhibits superior vibration performance and precise amplitude controllable capability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23522,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasonics","volume":"159 ","pages":"Article 107835"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145222882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prediction of rock mass mechanical properties from acoustic wave velocity using a Hoek-Brown constrained Component-Parameter model","authors":"Shishu Zhang ,&nbsp;Jin Liao ,&nbsp;Congyan Ran ,&nbsp;Zhanglei Wu ,&nbsp;Jinshan Hu ,&nbsp;Tao Xu ,&nbsp;Zhen Liu ,&nbsp;Cuiying Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107837","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107837","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Acoustic testing of rock masses is a widely used technique for the rapid evaluation of rock masses in engineering investigations, with key applications in tunnelling, slope stability management and related projects. However, conventional acoustic wave testing methods only provide qualitative insights into the mechanical properties of rock masses, necessitating Supplemental laboratory or in-situ mechanical tests to obtain quantitative values for critical parameters such as the elastic modulus and internal friction angle. This dual-testing requirement significantly hampers both efficiency and timely decision-making in the field. To overcome these limitations, this study conducted a series of laboratory and field experiments. A modified Wyllie equation was applied to analyze the relationships among rock porosity, mineral composition, and acoustic wave velocity. Polynomial regression modeling was then used to quantify the effects of pore space and mineral components on mechanical parameters, leading to the construction of a Hoek–Brown–constrained component-parameter correlation model. This approach identified the sensitivity response mechanism between acoustic wave characteristics and mechanical parameters. The results demonstrate that the model effectively predicts shear-strength indices (internal friction angle, R² = 0.93–0.94, cohesion, R² = 0.97–0.98) and deformation parameters (elastic modulus, R² = 0.94–0.95) for representative rock masses. Specifically, the internal friction angle (φ) was found to be the most sensitive parameter to acoustic wave variations (sensitivity coefficient ∼ 10^-5), followed by cohesion (c, ∼10^-6 to 10^-5) and elastic modulus (E, ∼10^-8 to 10^-7). Among them, internal friction angle exhibits the highest sensitivity to acoustic measurements, followed by cohesion, indicating strong potential for quantitative field application. Validation using metrics like Mean Squared Error (MSE = 0.001 ∼ 0.097) and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE = 0.032 ∼ 0.311) confirmed the model’s high predictive accuracy and robustness beyond R2. The acoustic-mechanical correlation model proposed in this study provides a new approach for rapid rock mass assessment and dynamic decision-making in tunnel support design, slope stability assessment, and other geotechnical engineering practices. It also presents a novel framework for comprehensively evaluating multiple parameters in rock mass engineering applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23522,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasonics","volume":"158 ","pages":"Article 107837"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145213816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Modified UNet-enhanced ultrasonic superb microvascular imaging feature extraction and grading of carpal tunnel syndrome","authors":"Xinyue Gong ,&nbsp;Guofeng Zhang ,&nbsp;Di Zhao ,&nbsp;Zhibin Jin ,&nbsp;Yifei Zhu ,&nbsp;Linying Jiang ,&nbsp;Bo Ding ,&nbsp;Honghui Xue ,&nbsp;Han Lin ,&nbsp;Weijing Zhang ,&nbsp;Dong Zhang ,&nbsp;Juan Tu","doi":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107834","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107834","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is recognized as the most frequently encountered median nerve (MN) entrapment neuropathy, with a disproportionate burden in middle-aged and elderly individuals and in occupational groups with repetitive wrist use. Anatomically, CTS is characterized by compression of the median nerve within the confined space between the transverse carpal ligament and flexor tendons, and microcirculatory impairment is regarded as one of its key pathological bases. Although electrodiagnostic assessments are considered as diagnostic gold standard, their utility is limited by suboptimal patient compliance, procedural discomfort, and inadequate sensitivity for detecting mild disease. This study integrates ultrafast Superb Microvascular Imaging (SMI) with a classification-guided, improved UNet segmentation modal and quantitative image analysis to objectively extract microvascular features for CTS grading. In a cohort of 105 patients (21 mild, 71 moderate, 13 severe CTS) and 21 healthy controls, longitudinal and transverse SMI cine loops were segmented using an improved UNet with cross-plane classification guidance. The modified network can yielded superior segmentation effect over a traditional UNet. From segmented regions we extracted 6 SMI-derived geometric features, which were then used as predictors in a nonlinear quadratic regression model for CTS severity grading. The model achieved 93.7 % overall classification accuracy and an AUC of 0.95 in cross validation. Independent blind validation (n = 12) showed strong agreement with expert sonographers (Kappa = 0.87). These results demonstrate that high spatiotemporal SMI combined with anatomy-aware deep learning model could enable reproducible extraction of microvascular geometry, and supports robust, noninvasive grading of CTS, with potential for deployment on portable ultrasound platforms for point-of-care screening and bedside ultrasonic monitoring.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23522,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasonics","volume":"158 ","pages":"Article 107834"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145213791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}