Development of an ultrasound imaging system for needle guidance

Ultrasound transducers are commonly used to guide needle insertion procedures such as central line placement and biopsies, but these image guided procedures have steep learning curves and high user variability. An ultrasound imaging system has been developed that may significantly simplify ultrasound guidance procedures while producing high quality volumetric imagery. The system features an affixable thin flexible ultrasound transducer that conforms to curved body surfaces and a backward propagation-based image reconstruction technique. The ultrasound imaging system was used in a preliminary demonstration to image the cross-section of a needle in a cylindrical soft tissue phantom. The images compared favorably to images obtained from a commercial ultrasound system. The encouraging imaging results demonstrate the potential of the conformal ultrasound approach for ultrasound guidance procedures. The proposed conformal ultrasound approach may significantly simplify current medical procedures, while also providing high resolution volumetric imagery.