The paper presents the design and validation of body-conformal active ultrasound patches with integrated imaging and modulation modalities for image-guided neural therapy. A mechanically-flexible linear 64-element array of piezoelectric transducers with a resonance frequency of 5 MHz was designed for nerve localization. A second 8-element array using larger elements was integrated on the wearable probe for low intensity focused ultrasound neuromodulation at a resonance frequency of 1.3 MHz. Full-wave simulations were used to model the flexible arrays and estimate their generated pressure profiles. A focal depth of 10–20 mm was assumed for beamforming and focusing to support modulation of the vagus, tibial, and other nerves. A strain sensor integrated on the probe provides patient-specific feedback information on array curvature for real-time optimization of focusing and image processing. Each patch also includes high voltage (HV) multiplexers, transmit/receive switches, and pre-amplifiers that simplify connectivity and also improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the received echo signals by $\sim$ 5 dB. Experimental results from a flexible prototype show a sensitivity of 80 kPa/V with $\sim$ 3 MHz bandwidth for the modulation and 20 kPa/V with $\sim$ 6 MHz bandwidth for the imaging array. An algorithm for accurate and automatic localization of targeted nerves based on using nearby blood vessels (e.g., the carotid artery) as image markers is also presented.

中文翻译：

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用于图像引导神经调节的柔性贴身超声贴片。

本文介绍了用于图像引导神经治疗的具有整合成像和调制方式的适形主动超声贴片的设计和验证。设计机械共振频率为5 MHz的压电换能器线性线性64元素阵列用于神经定位。使用较大元素的第二个8元素阵列集成在可穿戴探针上，用于在1.3 MHz的共振频率下进行低强度聚焦超声神经调节。全波模拟被用来对柔性阵列建模并估计它们产生的压力分布。假定波束形成和聚焦的焦深为10–20 mm，以支持迷走神经，胫骨和其他神经的调制。集成在探头上的应变传感器为阵列曲率提供患者特定的反馈信息，以实时优化聚焦和图像处理。每个贴片还包括高压（HV）多路复用器，发射/接收开关和前置放大器，可简化连接并通过以下方式提高接收回波信号的信噪比（SNR）：$ \ sim $ 5分贝。灵活原型的实验结果表明，灵敏度为80 kPa / V。$ \ sim $ 3 MHz的调制带宽和20 kPa / V $ \ sim $ 成像阵列的带宽为6 MHz。还提出了一种基于使用附近的血管（例如颈动脉）作为图像标记的，准确，自动定位目标神经的算法。