Ultrasonic imaging technologies in perspective

Abstract

Ultrasonic imaging is a mature and widely used medical diagnostic technology but it is also a field of intense research activity. Innovations are viewed with differing perspectives by the stakeholders− users, industrialists, regulators, and researchers and research funders. The more important recent developments include advances in transducers, scanning schemes, coded excitation, three-dimensional, high-resolution and high-speed imaging, contrast agents, harmonic, elasticity and strain imaging, point-of-care devices, computed tomography, thermoacoustic, photoacoustic, acousto-optic and Hall effect imaging. Viewed from diverse perspectives, the assessment of ultrasonic imaging technologies is intellectually challenging. This is a general problem, which demands a multidisciplinary approach. An emerging, integrated, context for such assessment is presented. Given the straitened economies around the world, the need to articulate value for each and all stakeholders is becoming increasingly important.

Keywords::

• Ultrasound
• Imaging
• New technologies
• Stakeholder perspectives
• Multidisciplinary assessment

Acknowledgement

TPY acknowledges funding under the MATCH Programme (UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council grants numbers GR/S29874/01, EP/F063822/1 and EP/G012393/1) and he thanks the many coinvestigators and researchers who have brought the resulting wide-ranging portfolio of applied research together since 2003.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest and that the views expressed are entirely their own.