Overview
In order to address our customer’s needs, our design will incorporate a head-mounted fixture to house the transcranial Doppler ultrasound probes and utilize an algorithm to assist in the detection of relevant flow characteristics. We chose to use transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) for our imaging modality in consideration of Pulse’s external magnet, and its portability. The external magnet also led us to consider a head fixture that uses material other than metal while still being strong enough to hold the probe. We therefore chose plastic and polymers for our headset materials. Additionally, the headset must be easy to set up and easily allow the user to insonate the patient. We aimed to keep our design simple and also utilize two attachment mechanisms in order to maximally secure the probe for proper insonation.
Our algorithm was chosen based on parameters of past studies. TCD is a relatively new technology, but its application in real-time visualization of clot-dissolution used during stroke therapies has been widely recognized by several parties and there have been a range of clinical studies performed testing the potential of TCD. However, TCD is the most operator dependent form of diagnostic ultrasound and we were unable to fully automate the detection process, requiring user input a various points during the procedure. At the current stage of research, we chose to use a time averaged mean-velocity measurement of the affected MCA compared to the contralateral MCA mean velocity used as a control. We created a working prototype algorithm based on this parameter, but expect it to change as more information about TCD used in Stroke becomes available.
Our algorithm was chosen based on parameters of past studies. TCD is a relatively new technology, but its application in real-time visualization of clot-dissolution used during stroke therapies has been widely recognized by several parties and there have been a range of clinical studies performed testing the potential of TCD. However, TCD is the most operator dependent form of diagnostic ultrasound and we were unable to fully automate the detection process, requiring user input a various points during the procedure. At the current stage of research, we chose to use a time averaged mean-velocity measurement of the affected MCA compared to the contralateral MCA mean velocity used as a control. We created a working prototype algorithm based on this parameter, but expect it to change as more information about TCD used in Stroke becomes available.