Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Biomedical Engineering

Committee Chair

Carl Herickhoff

Committee Member

Amy Dejongh Curry

Committee Member

Brent Hoffmeister

Abstract

Ischemic strokes entail a blockage of vessels in the brain and account for 87% of all strokes. When these blockages occur in large cerebral arteries, there is a 95% post-stroke mortality rate. Given these statistics, rapid identification and treatment is crucial for positive patient outcomes. Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a noninvasive ultrasound technique that transmits ultrasonic pulses through the skull to assess arterial flow velocities to determine whether any large vessel occlusions (LVOs) are present. However, identifying both an acoustic window that allows ultrasonic pulses to propagate well and the angle to align the beam with large vessels proves to be challenging. In this work, we aim to develop an experimental approach to identify and characterize the acoustic window. Initial simulations of piston transducers were done using Field II in a homogenous medium. These simulations were then later used in comparison to simulations of ultrasound propagation through the skull. Another experiment used a phased-array probe over a skull bisection to acquire data and quantitatively assess the severity of phase aberration vs. position. These results provide baseline simulations and calculations to accurately characterize and identify the acoustic window. This work will inform the design of a custom transcranial array probe for rapid detection of severe stroke.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

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Notes

Open access.

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