Towards Automated Positioning of Ultrasonic Probes

This paper focuses on techniques to acquire good-quality ultrasound images that can be analyzed to provide an appropriate therapeutic regimen. We consider the problem of image-guided neuromodulation of the vagus nerve (VN). A robust template-matching method locates the VN from B-mode ultrasound images, with the nearby carotid artery (CA) being used as a biomarker. This information is used to correctly orient and position the probe.