Recent improvements to ultrasound technology by MIT researchers allow for precise measurements and tracking of disease progression. The work was led by Brian W. Anthony, co-director of MIT’s Medical Electronic Device Realization Center (MEDRC).
There are two key elements to the improvements engineered by Anthony and his team. First, the researchers devised a way to adjust for variations in the force exerted by a sonographer, producing more consistent images that can compensate for body motions such as breathing and heartbeat. Second, they provided a way to map the exact location on the skin where one reading was taken, so that it can be precisely matched with later readings to detect changes in the size or location of a tumor, clot, or other structure.