High-Resolution Ultrasound Platform for Infant Meningitis Detection: An In Vitro Demonstration.
Manuel NavarreteDavid Castells-RufasHassane Baghdad KichouGuillermo Navarro-PatronJavier JimenezJordi CarrabinaPublished in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) (2024)
Infant meningitis remains a severe burden on global health, particularly for young infants. Traditional ultrasound imaging techniques are limited in spatial resolution to visualize white blood cells (WBCs) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which is considered a well-established marker for meningitis detection. This work presents a novel platform that uses high-resolution ultrasound to detect the backscatter signals from microscopic CSF WBCs through the anterior fontanelle of neonates and young infants. The whole system was built around a custom probe that allows for a 20 MHz focused transducer to be mechanically controlled to map the area of interest in the CSF. Data processing can be performed internally in the device without the need to extract the images for further analysis. The in vitro feasibility of the proposed solution was evaluated in imaging 7 μm particle suspensions at different concentrations relevant to meningitis diagnosis ranging from 7- to 646-particles (pp)/μL. The experimental tests were conducted from a simple setup using a sample container to a more realistic setup based on an anatomical phantom of the neonatal head. The results show high-quality images, where 7 μm particles can be resolved for the different concentrations.
Keyphrases
- cerebrospinal fluid
- high resolution
- global health
- deep learning
- magnetic resonance imaging
- convolutional neural network
- induced apoptosis
- high throughput
- public health
- mass spectrometry
- loop mediated isothermal amplification
- optical coherence tomography
- real time pcr
- cell cycle arrest
- oxidative stress
- middle aged
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- tandem mass spectrometry
- single cell
- cell death
- cell proliferation
- big data
- high speed
- image quality
- risk factors
- contrast enhanced ultrasound
- signaling pathway
- pi k akt
- anti inflammatory
- dual energy