Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) imaging in application to characterizing atherosclerotic plaque and arterial walls. (Read more)

The Ultrasonic Imaging Laboratory in the Joint University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University Department of Biomedical Engineering is working to develop novel, clinically-relevant ultrasonic imaging technologies for enhanced non-invasive diagnostics and disease delineation. One such technology, Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) ultrasound, is being implemented to study the differential onset and progression of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in diabetics versus non-diabetics and females versus males. Similar ARFI methods are being employed to assess deep venous thrombosis and post-phlebitic syndrome in humans. Another research effort is in the development of novel targeted ultrasound probes for imaging endothelial inflammation associated with atherogenesis. Both ARFI and targeted ultrasound projects are conducted with significant contributions from collaborators in both clinical and basic science disciplines. Immediately adjacent to the University of North Carolina Medical Center in Chapel Hill, clinical resources are readily available for research purposes. In addition, the laboratory is equipped with a state-of-the-art diagnostic ultrasound scanner dedicated to research and a computational cluster for efficient data processing and analysis.