RII Track-4: NSF: Enabling Aberration-free Transcranial Photoacoustic Computed Tomography for Human Brain Imaging

University Of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa AL

Investigators

Abstract

Photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) is an emerging computational imaging modality that exploits optical contrast and acoustic detection principles to form high-accuracy images of human/animal tissue. However, transcranial brain imaging (TBI) is still challenging for PACT because of a strong skull-induced ultrasonic wave distortion (i.e., aberration), which leads to significant reconstruction artifacts. In this project, the PI and a graduate student will work with experts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to develop a computational mathematical framework based on a highly accurate modeling tool and high-performance computing (HPC) that enables an aberration-free PACT for TBI. Both the scientific knowledge of the framework’s stability and the fundamental PACT theory will be advanced. These advancements will result in improved medical outcomes, reduced risks, higher patient satisfaction, and reduced healthcare costs. To improve the research infrastructures in Alabama, the PI will actively recruit and mentor undergraduate and graduate students with diverse backgrounds (e.g., women, African Americans, and other minorities) to participate in this research, reach out to K-12 educators and students to create student interest in STEM fields, incorporate the findings into class modules, and disseminate the technology and findings to the public. This Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-4 EPSCoR Research Fellows (RII Track-4) project would provide a Fellowship to an Assistant Professor and training for a graduate student at University of Alabama Tuscaloosa. This project will advance the state-of-the-art in transcranial PACT. By deriving the mathematical expressions using the adjoint state method, the team will create a novel joint reconstruction framework that simultaneously inverts the initial pressure distribution and the parameterized, coupled fluid/solid sound of speed images for TBI. The project will also create a computational JR framework based on a spectral element method (SEM) and the associated HPC-enabled software to enable aberration-free transcranial PACT. The high-order shape functions of SEM accurately represent the complex topology of human body parts (e.g, skull bones) and are expected to significantly reduce the aberration effects. Scientific knowledge will be generated on the aberration-reduction effects that SEM can bring. The mathematical analysis will be performed for the JR instability problem, and improved mitigation strategies will be created as well. The project outcomes will address barriers to applying PACT for TBI, fill the void of lacking PACT research in Alabama, and improve Alabama's competitiveness in Biosciences/Biotechnology, which is one of the Key Alabama EPSCoR research priority areas. Alabama will gain the capabilities and competitive advantages for a variety of PACT-related fields such as brain imaging, musculoskeletal imaging, and nondestructive evaluation. The resulting cyberinfrastructure will enable Alabama to be ready for a wide range of computational and data-enabled research topics. The clinical translation potential and significant patient outcome improvements will allow the team to cultivate industrial relationships through other external grants to stimulate Alabama’s entrepreneurship, research infrastructure, and economic development. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.