Development of Flexible 2D Ultrasound Arrays for Scoliosis Assessment
Conventional way of assessing scoliosis requires taking X-ray radiograph on the coronal plane of the spine. Rapid radiograph examinations on scoliosis patients could produce radiation hazards and increase the risk of cancer. Recently, it has been shown th
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Abstract— Conventional way of assessing scoliosis requires taking X-ray radiograph on the coronal plane of the spine. Rapid radiograph examinations on scoliosis patients could produce radiation hazards and increase the risk of cancer. Recently, it has been shown that ultrasound imaging could produce reliable Cobb’s angle measurement for scoliosis assessments. However, this method requires moving the ultrasound probe manually by physician’s hand and could produce error if subjects moved during the imaging process. More importantly, it is very difficult to take images when subjects are wearing back braces. This study has aimed to overcome the above issues by developing a flexible ultrasound transducer arrays which could stay on subjects’ back during the examination. 4mm diameter piezoelectric transducer elements were soldered onto flexible copper Printed Computer Board (PCB). The transducer surface was then emerged into soft silicone gel to eliminate possible air gaps and provide comfortable cushioning between transducer and the subject’s back. Accelerometers and electromagnetic spatial sensors were explored to measure the elements’ location and orientation. The Preliminary results showed that the structure of the spinous process could be identified with the flexible transducer array by comparing A-mode signals with B-mode images taken with conventional ultrasound probe. It was also suggested that the larger angular coverage of the flexible transducer array could be helpful for studying the orientation of reflecting surface. This could be done by finding the angle of reflection of the echoes by capturing signals with nearby elements during single element stimulation. Keywords— scoliosis, flexible 2D ultrasound arrays, spine imaging, coronal plane.
I. INTRODUCTION Scoliosis is a spine deformity disease which results in a lateral curvature of the spine on the coronal plane. It is often coupled with vertebral rotation of the spine as they are considered in most cases idiopathic [1]. In Hong Kong, there are around 3.1% of children suffering from scoliosis [2]. Scoliosis can be treated by surgery, physical therapy or by wearing TLOS (Thoraco-Lumbo-Sacral-Orthosis) brace and etc. [1]. To provide diagnosis for this disease, the gold standard is to measure the Cobb’s angle of patient’s spine on the coronal plane [3]. This is usually done by X-ray examinations on the thoracic plus abdominal region of the body. Once scoliosis is detected, regular and rapid X-ray assessments on patients might be required to monitor
curvature progression, treatment outcomes and especially to ensure correct fitting of the TLOS brace. Rapid assessments using X-ray could lead to radiation hazards and increase in risk of cancer [4]. Although a recent imaging device (EOS imaging) has been shown to reduce X-ray doses to patient when performing spine imaging examinations [5], it is still more desirable to minimize or eliminate the radiation hazard in scoliosis assessments. It has recently been demonstrated that 3D ultrasound imaging is feasible imagi
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