Abstract
We have ever developed the method to realize active path selection of mircobubbles at the bifurcation of blood vessels. To enhance the density of microbubbles in the object vessel, our method introduces acoustic radiation force to the bifurcation of the blood vessel. To apply this method to an in vivo experiment, it is necessary to understand the three-dimensional shape of blood vessels and the distribution of bifurcations. In this study we developed a method to measure the distribution of bifurcations in blood vessel by combining optical position detection of ultrasound probe with the extraction of the blood flow in echograms. The shape of blood vessels is reconstructed in a graphical interface, where three-dimensional thinning algorithm was applied. As for unnatural end points in the reconstructed shape, we have developed an interpolation method to connect between nearest end points. In an in vitro experiment using an artificial blood vessel, we have confirmed that the two bifurcation points were detected with various experimental conditions. The proposed system succeeded to visualize blood vessels with vessel bifurcations in a human kidney.
