By Michael Johannes Pihl

Medical ultrasound imaging is widely used for studying blood flow dynamics in the human circulatory system. However, blood velocity estimates using conventional techniques are angle dependent. This strongly limits the possibility of visualizing complicated flow patterns and obtaining the true velocity. This problem has been remedied by methods developed at Center for Fast Ultrasound Imaging (CFU) at DTU Elektro for 2D velocity estimation.

The aim of this project is to develop a method for full 3D vector velocity imaging to correctly show the velocity vector.  Methods for acquiring data and estimating the velocity are developed based on 2D techniques already developed at CFU with main focus on the transverse oscillation method. The methods will then be implemented on the experimental ultrasound scanner SARUS at CFU and evaluated on flow phantoms and human volunteers.

With 3D vector flow imaging, complex flow patterns can be visualized and, potentially, pathological flow patterns around occlusions, valves, and bifurcations can be identified.

About Michael

Michael is 29 years old and has a Master in Medicine and Technology from 2009. During his master years, Michael spent seven months at Duke University in North Carolina.

About his current activities, Michael explains: I have just presented my recent results at the  "30th Danish annual congress in biomedical engineering". The results demonstrate that we can measure blood flow in all three spatial dimensions in an experimental setup. Next step is a presentation at the 2012 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium in Dresden, Germany on October 9th.

At the 30th Danish annual congress in biomedical engineering in September, Michael won the first prize for his presentation.