Recent research has demonstrated the feasibility of Non-Invasive MRI Guided Ultrasound Surgery, and as a result, much interest has been shown in participating in the research in this area. Since the bores of clinical magnets are small, the size of the surgical equipment must be minimized, particularly along the gamma axis. This can be accomplished by using concentric ring array designs which have as many as 20 individual elements. With research in ultrasound therapy increasing, a market has formed for systems composed of phased array transducers and low cost multi-channel amplifier systems with channel-independent amplitude and phase control and adequate safety monitoring. Advanced Surgical Systems intends to meet this need by developing and marketing complete multi-channel surgical systems designed specifically to this application. This can be achieved by using high-efficiency switching MOSFET amplifier designs with output filtering, an innovative RF power feedback mechanism, novel phase shifting techniques, and embedded microcontrollers. As current research indicates that greater control and flexibility can be obtained by increasing the total number of elements in the phased arrays, the twenty-channel amplifier can then be used as a building block for amplifiers with he increased number of channels necessary to power more complex arrays.Proposed commercial application:Research in the area of ultrasound phased arrays has yielded positive and encouraging results. Now, with the advent of Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a guidance and thermal feedback modality, there exists a growing interest in the application of Non-Invasive MRI Guided Ultrasound Surgery. While currently available amplifier systems can be used to power single element ultrasound transducers, they ar not practical for use with many-channel phased arrays. Hence, the low cost phased-array driving systems developed in this project will be of interest to both researchers studying transducer design and researchers studying the application of ultrasound surgery and controlled hyperthermia.National Cancer Institute (NCI)
