Ultrasound imaging of the brain
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Ultrasound captures high-resolution 3D images of human brain through intact skull.
The company Aleph built an ultrasound system that images brain vasculature through the skull without drilling, using microbubble contrast agents to achieve super-resolution. The method exploits the connection between neuron firing and blood flow. They claim the world's first 3D ultrasound localization microscopy image of a living human brain through an intact skull, with resolution 100x greater volumetrically than CT. The technique resolves large vessels, pial arteries, and arterioles. The pipeline and dataset are open-sourced. The long-term goal is contrast-free imaging using machine learning to extract signals from red blood cells, for which they are collecting a large dataset of neurovascular ultrasound.
What commenters are saying
Commenters expressed excitement but raised significant concerns. Many questioned the feasibility of contrast-free imaging, noting that the super-resolution trick relies on sparse microbubbles, while red blood cells are dense and weakly scattering, requiring orders-of-magnitude improvement. Several pointed out the team's lack of ultrasound science background and Silicon Valley approach to medical devices, drawing parallels to Theranos. Others noted the images lack large vasculature and skull correction is needed. Concerns were raised about environmental impact of sulfur hexafluoride and potential for mind-reading to end privacy. Some commenters defended the approach as promising but early, emphasizing the difference between contrast-enhanced and contrast-free imaging.