Simulation of ultrasound propagation through human skull: Experimental validation and application to treatment planning

Transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) is a non-invasive therapeutic modality that can be used to treat essential tremor via local thermal ablation of a small spot in the thalamus. Acoustic energy is focused through the skull using a multi-element transducer. Per-element phase delay is derived using individual patient’s skull CT to compensate for skull heterogeneity, but MRI thermometry is still required for precise targeting and localization of the focal spot. There exists an opportunity for improved and accurate numerical simulations through skull to improve focal spot positioning and treatment, to allow treatment pre-planning, and to permit parametric studies that will identify important acoustic and thermal properties of human skull bones and tissues. Here, we report on a novel 3D numeric simulation framework, based on the CIVA Healthcare simulation platform, to simulate propagation through skulls and the resulting heating. This simulation platform has been developed to pilot various fast algorithms an...