A study for tracking focal lesions in non-invasive ultrasound theragnostic system

In recent years, HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound) therapy, which is one of the non-invasive therapies utilizing focused ultrasound, have attracted a great attention as a novel treatment method for a focal lesion, such as a tumor and a stone. However, the focal lesion moves in accordance with respiration, which may cause the damage for the surrounding normal tissues. To cope with this problem, we have developed a non-invasive ultrasound theragnostic system (NIUTS). In this report, we propose a novel tracking method, which is implemented in NIUTS, based on "Partial Active Shape Model" to enhance the servo performance for the focal lesion. Experimental results shows the effectiveness of the proposed servo method concerning the precision and robustness for a kidney phantom.