A window to the brain: ultrasound imaging of human neural activity through a permanent acoustic window
Open accessPreprint — published as 10.1126/scitranslmed.adj3143
Abstract
Recording human brain activity is crucial for understanding normal and aberrant brain function. However, available recording methods are either highly invasive or have relatively low sensitivity. Functional ultrasound imaging (fUSI) is an emerging technique that offers sensitive, large-scale, high-resolution neural imaging. However, fUSI cannot be performed through adult human skull. Here, we use a polymeric skull replacement material to create an acoustic window allowing ultrasound to monitor brain activity in fully intact adult humans. We design the window through experiments in phantoms and rodents, then implement it in a participant undergoing reconstructive skull surgery. Subsequently, we demonstrate fully non-invasive mapping and decoding of cortical responses to finger movement, marking the first instance of high-resolution (200 μm) and large-scale (50 mmx38 mm) brain imaging through a permanent acoustic window.
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Feasibility of non-invasive methods for communication brain-computer interfaces is being actively investigated with the goal of improving signal-to-noise and spatial resolution.
“Separately, the feasibility of non-invasive methods for communication brain computer interfaces is being actively investigated77–80, with the goal of improving signal-to-noise and spatial resolution.”
From The speech neuroprosthesis (2024) · cites this paper as [77]
The Discussion (page not supplied) reports non-invasive functional ultrasound recording through a previously implanted acoustic window and describes task-state decoding as an initial step toward human brain-machine interfaces. The Introduction and Conclusion (pages not supplied) discuss the need for better sensitivity and spatial precision. The study does not investigate a communication interface, and its recording method requires prior skull reconstruction, so it does not establish a wholly non-invasive method. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Non-Invasive Brain-Computer Interfaces: State of the Art and Trends
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“Importantly, fUS has recently also been used to record motor-related signals inapatient withasonolucent cranial implant [46], indicatingthat human BCI applications are on the horizon.”
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“However, fUS imaging currently requires either a cranial opening or an acoustic window 10 in large animals because the ultrasound signal is severely attenuated by bone 11 .”
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“Additionally, the application of fUS in humans is mostly restricted to patients ( 73 , 74 ) or infants ( 75 , 76 ), highlighting its current limitations.”
- Authors
- Rabut, C., Norman, S. L., Griggs, W. S., Russin, J. J., Jann, K., Christopoulos, V., Liu, C., Andersen, R. A., & Shapiro, M. G.
- Affiliations
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- University of Southern California (US)
- University of California, Riverside (US)
- Corresponding author
- Norman, Sumner L.
- Liu, Charles
- Andersen, Richard A.
- Shapiro, Mikhail G.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Science Translational Medicine
- Publisher
- openRxiv
- Published
- 2023-06-15
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 749
- Pages
- eadj3143-eadj3143
- ISSN
- 1946-6234 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10312699
- OpenAlex
- W4399118424
- Cited by
- 76
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 35 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 2
- FWCI
- 8.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- Science Translational Medicine (publishedVersion)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- California Institute of Technology
- James G. Boswell Foundation
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
- National Institutes of Health
- National Eye Institute
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T32GM008042, GM008042)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Photoacoustic and Ultrasonic Imaging
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Ultrasound and Hyperthermia Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques
- Keywords
- functional ultrasound imaging, acoustic window, titanium mesh implant, traumatic brain injury
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