Mobile Human Brain Imaging using Functional Ultrasound

Imagine being able to study the human brain in real-world scenarios while the subject displays natural behaviors such as locomotion, social interaction, or spatial navigation. The advent of ultrafast ultrasound imaging brings us closer to this goal with functional Ultrasound imaging (fUSi), a new mobile neuroimaging technique. Here, we present real-time fUSi monitoring of brain activity during walking in a subject with a clinically approved sonolucent skull implant. Our approach utilizes personalized 3D-printed fUSi-helmets for stability, optical tracking for cross-modal validation with fMRI, advanced signal processing to estimate hemodynamic responses and facial tracking of a lick licking paradigm. These combined efforts allowed us to show consistent fUSi signals over 20 months, even during high-motion activities like walking. These results demonstrate the feasibility of fUSi for monitoring brain activity in real-world contexts, marking an important milestone for fUSi-based insights in clinical and neuroscientific research.