PROJECT SUMMARY
This Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) proposal is for the acquisition of a state-of-the-art
Verasonics Vantage 256 Research Ultrasound Platform. The Verasonics Vantage system is a
unique, flexible, open platform for ultrasound innovation across many applications. It provides
direct access to raw ultrasound data and the ability to perform high quality real-time imaging. The
architecture of the system allows software-based beamforming and sequence control, instead of
hardware-based beamforming. Many new acquisition schemes using unconventional transmit
beams and transmit/receive sequences can be readily examined using the Vantage system,
whereas such approaches typically cannot be implemented using conventional data flow
architectures that are based on hardware beamformers. The instrument uses Pixel-Oriented
Processing, GPU highly parallelized beamforming, very high frame rate imaging for plane wave
transmit beams, data acquisition into local memory limited by acoustic travel time, up to 100,000
frames/second, and an extremely rapid RF signal data transfer to host computer. This research
ultrasound platform has been at the heart of the development of several imaging modalities and
algorithms now available in clinical ultrasound imaging systems because of its flexibility and
portability to hardware-based platforms. There is currently no research ultrasound platform at the
City University of New York (CCNY). With the acquisition of the Verasonics Vantage 256, faculty
from different departments at our institution (BME, ME, Biology) will gain access to a state-of-the-
art imaging platform for translational research in different fields at CCNY. This system will provide
us with ultrasound research infrastructure to perform (1) high-resolution real-time imaging with
dynamic beamforming, (2) speckle tracking, (3) algorithms for correction of aberration for bone
tomography, (4) shear wave elastography in soft tissues, (5) low-intensity stimulation and
thermography of brain and spinal cord tissues (6) Detection of microcracks in bone, (7) real-time
3D volume imaging, (8) Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging, (9) Vector flow imaging, etc. We
expect this system will catalyze current research on ultrasound neuromodulation, assessment of
osteoporosis and fracture risk, biomechanics of atheroma rupture, spinal cord injury therapy, etc.
thus, positively impacting health care in general.