Towards an Untethered Ultrasound Beamforming System for Brain Stimulation in Behaving Animals

Chunkyun Seok, Ziad Ali, F. Yalcin Yamaner, Mesut Sahin, Omer Oralkan

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper, we present a wireless ultrasound transmit (TX) beamforming system, potentially enabling wearable brain stimulation for small awake/behaving animals. The system is comprised of a 16-element capacitive micromachined transducer (CMUT) array, driven by a custom phased-array integrated circuit (IC), which is capable of generating high-voltage (13.5 V) excitation signals with sixteen phase delays and four amplitude levels. In addition, a Bluetooth low-energy module and a power management unit were integrated into the system, which realizes a battery-operated self-contained unit. We validated the functionality of the system by demonstrating beamforming and steering with a hydrophone measurement setup. We achieved an acoustic pressure output of 554 kPapp at the depth of 5 mm, which corresponds to a spatial-peak pulse-average intensity (ISPPA) of 2.9 W/cm2. The measured 6-dB beamwidth (0.4 mm) is promising in that it can stimulate a specific region of the brain, especially for small animals such as mice. Further smart partitioning of the system will enable a truly wearable device for small animals.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication40th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2018
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages1596-1599
Number of pages4
ISBN (Electronic)9781538636466
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 26 2018
Event40th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2018 - Honolulu, United States
Duration: Jul 18 2018Jul 21 2018

Publication series

NameProceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS
Volume2018-July
ISSN (Print)1557-170X

Other

Other40th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2018
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityHonolulu
Period7/18/187/21/18

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Signal Processing
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
  • Health Informatics

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