A transurethral catheter-based ultrasound system for multi-modal fusion.

ABSTRACT

Current methods of prostate cancer diagnosis and therapy rely on accurate imaging of the prostate using real-time ultrasound. Transurethral ultrasound (TUUS) may improve upon the current gold standard through improved 3D visualization and co-registration (fusion) with CT and MRI. A prototype transurethral ultrasound (TUUS) catheter-based transducer array and system was developed, featuring 32 elements with a diameter of 18F (6mm). A robust, multi-channel ultrasound transceiver was also developed to enable TUUS imaging using pulse-echo and frequency-based signal processing methods. The feasibility of a TUUS imaging system suitable for multi-modal image fusion and novel ultrasound signaling techniques was demonstrated.