Transcranial ultrasound simulations: a review

TL;DR

This review discusses various modeling methods for simulating transcranial ultrasound propagation through the skull, emphasizing the importance of accurate simulations for safe brain therapy and imaging.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of existing simulation techniques for the skull in transcranial ultrasound applications.

Findings

Different modeling approaches vary in accuracy and computational complexity

Case-specific simulations are essential for safe interventions

The review highlights gaps and future directions in skull modeling

Abstract

Transcranial ultrasound is more and more used for therapy and imaging of the brain. However, the skull is a highly attenuating and aberrating medium, with different structures and acoustic properties between samples and even within a sample. Thus, case-specific simulations are needed to perform transcranial focused ultrasound interventions safely. In this article, we provide a review of the different methods used to model the skull and to simulate ultrasound propagation through it.