Invited Speakers

Achieving wide-aperture insonification with high sensitivity typically requires a channel count incompatible with practical systems; sparse array configurations provide an effective tradeoff by enabling spatial aperture decimation while preserving transmit–receive performance. A second limitation arises from time of flight with pulse-echo (PE) acquisition modes. Because acoustic propagation speed is fixed, PE inherently restricts frame rate and exhibits extremely low sensing duty cycles, limiting its ability to capture short-lived or high-velocity events. On the other hand, long coded excitations can increase energy deposition. They also generate transmit–receive overlap and blind zones in single-aperture implementations.

We recently introduced Continuous Emission Ultrasound Imaging (CEUI) that addresses these constraints by replacing temporally discrete pulses with continuous, spatially and temporally encoded waveforms. Leveraging sparse arrays to physically decouple transmit and receive apertures, CEUI enables uninterrupted insonification and continuous data acquisition. This architecture removes the round-trip waiting time, theoretically allowing unbounded frame rates. This talk introduces CEUI as the convergence of sparse array design, compressed acquisitions and computational methods for image reconstruction. We will outline its core principles, the methods designed to decode the received raw signals and beamform M- and B-mode images, and demonstrate its ability to reach unprecedented imaging speeds—exceeding 100,000 frames per second—through simulations and early experimental results.

This talk explores the reasons for the growing interest in the field from both industry and academia, with particular attention to the close interplay between advances in microelectronics and increased performance as well as novel clinical applications in medical US. The impact of microelectronic devices (including AFEs, FPGAs, and GPUs) and computing systems (from personal computers to open scanners) on US technology will be critically assessed. Practical examples will illustrate how key building blocks of US instruments—such as the beamformer—have evolved over the past four decades, enabling real-time imaging at frame rates of several kilohertz. The talk will emphasize the crucial role of advanced hardware capabilities in supporting the real-time implementation of transformative methods, including AI-based approaches. Finally, perspectives on potential future advancements will be discussed, highlighting the expected trajectory of US technology in the coming years.

Using this approach, images are formed based on the direct display of spatial coherence rather than the familiar display of amplitude information in almost every other ultrasound imaging mode available today. Since the early days of the technique, applications have expanded to a wide range of diagnostic and interventional procedures. This talk will overview applications and use cases in breast mass characterization to determine the presence of breast cancer, sound speed estimation to improve delay-and-sum beamforming, flexible array shape estimation, skin tone bias reduction in non-invasive photoacoustic imaging, and interventional photoacoustic image guidance during surgery, biopsies, and cardiac catheterization procedures. Early adoption of our real-time system by breast radiologists at the Johns Hopkins Hospital will additionally be discussed. This expansiveness of applications represents a gold mine of untapped potential to revolutionize our standards for equity in ultrasound-based patient care.

Extending ULM to 3D is essential to capture vascular architecture, flow dynamics, and microcirculatory remodeling, and has been demonstrated in multiple preclinical models. However, existing 3D ULM systems, based on matrix, sparse, multiplexed, or row–column arrays, suffer from limited field of view, high channel counts, and restricted penetration, limiting clinical translation. To overcome these limitations, we developed a large-aperture array using large piezoelectric elements to improve sensitivity and volumetric coverage. As large elements exhibit strong acoustic directivity, we introduced custom acoustic lenses that reduce directivity via Snell’s law, enabling wide divergence and effective synthetic focusing while preserving sensitivity. This concept was validated through simulations and in vitro experiments, followed by a full-scale prototype applied to large organs, demonstrating unprecedented volumetric coverage. Most recently, we achieved transcranial imaging of the complete Circle of Willis in primates, highlighting robustness in highly aberrating environments. These advances remove major limitations in 3D ULM, enabling large fields of view, improved penetration, reduced hardware complexity, and compatibility with clinical constraints. Future work will focus on clinically deployable 3D ULM systems for whole-organ imaging, including the kidney, heart, and brain.

This talk will highlight advances in the use of image-guided focused ultrasound (FUS) as a non-invasive, multi-pronged interventional tool for potentiating multiple classes of immunotherapy, including vaccine adjuvants, checkpoint inhibitors, and CAR T cells. We will showcase integration of non-invasive surveillance approaches such as positron emission tomography (PET) and liquid biopsy with FUS to inform precision, adaptation, and de

intensification of combinatorial treatment regimens. We will also showcase development of novel image-guided ultrasound instrumentation toward these objectives. Applications spanning high-risk breast cancer and adult/pediatric brain cancers will be discussed. Finally, this talk will overview clinical translation and insights from first-in-human trials investigating FUS for immuno-oncology applications.

Although brain imaging is predominantly performed using X-ray computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound could play a unique role due to its low cost, portability, and real-time capability, filling critical gaps in settings where CT and MRI are unavailable, impractical, or unsuitable. Despite this promise, transcranial ultrasound imaging in adults remains limited because the human skull introduces severe attenuation, phase aberration, and reverberation of ultrasound waves. This talk presents recent efforts in computational imaging to address these challenges and to advance transcranial ultrasound brain imaging. Specifically, we will introduce methods for correcting skull-induced phase aberration; evaluate the accuracy and computational efficiency of different aberration correction strategies; describe progress in skull acoustic property characterization and modeling; present the development and validation of a new numerical simulation framework for realistic skull modeling; and discuss technical innovations to improve full-waveform inversion for transcranial brain imaging.

I will highlight TUS’s precision in targeting deep brain structures, its value in probing neural circuits related to decision making and learning, and its emerging clinical potential in psychiatric disorders. Drawing on recent human studies; including investigations into decision-making and a novel clinical work in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); I’ll present evidence of TUS’s eKects on task-related neural changes, behaviour and symptoms demonstrating its promise as a transformative neuromodulation tool.

In complex environments­ranging from oil and gas pipelines to physiological monitoring, no single modality can capture the full spectrum of relevant information. Combining techniques such as ultrasonics, optics, and microwaves enables deeper insight into material, chemical, and biological systems. This presentation will highlight examples of cross-domain sensor development, showing how multimodal integration leads to enhanced data reliability, process efficiency, and diagnostic precision. The main emphasis will be on ultrasonic sensing.

The ARMPatch features glucose-responsive hydrogel microneedles that minimally penetrate the skin, swelling in response to glucose levels in interstitial fluid. Embedded silica microspheres enhance ultrasound contrast, enabling accurate, non-enzymatic glucose detection. In vitro and in vivo results demonstrate a strong, reversible correlation between microneedle swelling and glucose concentration, with stable and sensitive readings maintained for up to 56 days. Serving as an accessory to conventional ultrasound probes, the ARMPatch provides a minimally invasive, cost-effective, and durable solution for wearable CGM.

In this talk, I will highlight our recent advances in a mid-infrared detector based on phononic-crystal oscillators, achieving picowatt-per-root-hertz sensitivity while maintaining bandwidths exceeding 10 kHz. I will then discuss our frequency-domain analog computing approach based on nonlinear phononic devices. Finally, I will outline a vision for phononic integrated circuits as a unified and versatile platform for sensing, computation, and quantum information processing.

This changed dramatically in the second decade of the new millennium with the launch of Smartphones having multiple frequency bands and carrier aggregation (CA). Today, one of the most expensive components in a Smartphone are the RF Radio Front End modules (or RFFE). The most expensive components inside the RFFE module are the 30 to 50 filters collectively (per module). Filters define the cost. Filters define the size. And Filters define the performance of these modules. All 3 of these orthogonal demands from the customer can be solved with better filters. Currently, there are two competing technologies for high performance filters. In the mid band (1.4 to 2.7 GHz), both Guided Wave Surface Acoustic Wave Devices (GWSAW, but often referred to as Piezo on Insulator or POI) and Free-Standing Bulk-Wave Devices or FBAR. The ‘new frontier’ for acoustic filters are radio bands above 4 GHz. Here, we are seeing new kinds of acoustic filters including the new and innovative XBAR devices. This is essentially a Lamb Mode device where the fundamental frequency of the A1 mode is a function of the piezo thickness. Not to be outdone, FBAR folks are working on their own innovative technologies for ultra-high frequency applications. One of the more promising technologies is the RSBAR, where the piezo layer is divided into two layers with opposite polarity. This suppresses the fundamental mode while favoring the 2nd harmonic, thus doubling the frequency. RSBARs have relatively thicker electrodes than a standard FBAR and avoid the thickness scaling laws that reduce electrode thickness for higher frequencies.

At the same time that there is a future for further innovation, there is also the reality that filter technology is becoming commoditized. Filters that used to sell for $5, now sell for pennies. Navigating our way through both the challenges of innovation and the horrors of commoditization will be the theme of my talk.

This talk presents the latest progress in ferroelectric ScAlN thin-film engineering and its application to resonators and filters targeting next-generation wireless systems.

The overlap method can further be viewed as a field-based generalization of Berlincourt’s quasi-static formulation for material coupling, which itself is defined in terms of this underlying energy-ratio. A commonly used approximation to the IEEE definition expresses coupling as a function of the resonant (fs) and anti-resonant (fp) frequencies, allowing the electromechanical coupling to be calculated from laboratory admittance measurements of a given resonator. This approximation assumes an idealized, single-mode-dominated resonator. In contrast, the energy-normalized overlap integral (overlap method) of a resonator’s electromechanical fields is also used as a measure of coupling. This method allows researchers to understand how electromechanical eigenmode shape impacts coupling, typically through simulation.

This work clarifies the relationship between these formulations across regimes of material coupling (k²t) and acoustic mismatch. For small k2t and matched acoustic impedance and velocity between layers, the resonator forced response is single-mode dominated, and both formulations are equivalent and consistent with the IEEE energy-ratio definition. However, in the presence of acoustic mismatch, the resonator’s forced response involves multimodal participation, causing the (single mode) frequency-based IEEE approximation to deviate from the energy-ratio definition, while the mode-specific overlap formulation agrees with that definition.

At large k2t, both the IEEE frequency approximation and the overlap formulation diverge from their underlying energy-ratio definition due to differences in the modal profiles at fs and fp. In this case, accurate computation of the forced response requires a multimode electromechanical expansion.

An efficient and accurate modal expansion of the resonator’s admittance and displacement responses can be obtained by introducing a semi-analytic dual-mode basis constructed from the fs and fp eigenmodes. This framework unifies the interpretation of coupling definitions and provides a practical approach to BAW resonator analysis and design.

This vast increase brings with it pressure for the commercialization of existing research systems as well as the development of new systems capable of rapidly pivoting based on clinical need. To fully address these new challenges, solutions are needed which combine the high integration levels of modern diagnostic systems with larger apertures, higher output powers, better thermal handling and more novel pulsing and focusing control, while also addressing regulatory and safety requirements.

The design of systems for diagnostic medical ultrasound is a mature process dating back decades. Over time, systems have progressed from single element transducers with bulky, discrete power systems and analog electronic chains through high-element count arrays with integrated electronics, to modern wireless systems able to connect directly to a smart phone or tablet. By contrast, the development of therapeutic systems is only just beginning to mature, with the majority of systems still featuring discrete components connected with long, lossy cables and minimal channel counts. To meet the growing needs of the clinical user, systems need to leverage the decades of learning from diagnostic applications to facilitate small form-factor, integrated, modular solutions.

In this paper we present a solution to these diverse needs where we developed a highly integrated, modular transducer solution which combines channel-level transmit electronics, fully-sampled elements and in-module cooling circuits. Modules can be combined as the application and acoustics command/require, for example, 52 x 13 mm modules can be combined in smaller 2-4 module groups for more portable, shallow depth applications or 16 or more modules for applications requiring penetration or low f number at high power. By placing the transmit electronics within 5 cm of the acoustic stack and directly coupling them to the cooling channel, both power and cooling efficiency can be maximized, allowing therapeutic pressure levels at much lower drive voltages. This efficiency opens the door both for the adaptation of existing diagnostic electronics as well as paving the way for the cost, size and weight reductions required for far more portable solutions.

However, the piezoelectric properties of PT-based textured ceramics have still been significantly lower than their ideal values after a long-term effort. Therefore, in recent years, how to make the piezoelectric properties of textured ceramics approach the level of single crystals has become an important issue in the field of piezoelectric ceramics. In this talk, the recent progress of textured piezoelectric ceramics will be introduced, including the design of new microplatelet templates, sintering aids, material compositions and texturing process. Based these new developments, some textured piezoelectric ceramics currently show comparable piezoelectricity to that of single crystal counterparts. In addition, some interesting characteristics of textured piezoelectric ceramics, e.g., near-zero planar Poisson’s ratio and ultrahigh piezoelectric voltage coefficients, will be discussed in this talk. We believe that the high piezoelectric performance in combined with much lower fabrication cost and higher mechanical strength in contrast to single crystal counterparts will make textured piezoelectric ceramics of great importance for advanced electromechanical applications, especially for the piezoelectric devices in the field of 3C, where both high-performance, strong reliability and acceptable cost of piezoelectric elements are highly required.

To address this limitation, we developed ultrasound-based multimodal diagnosis-and-treatment platforms integrating optical and electrical modalities. By leveraging complementary contrast, penetration depth, and spatial resolution, these platforms enable comprehensive assessment of tissue structure, function, and molecular information, while supporting ultrasound-mediated targeted delivery and real-time treatment guidance. Based on these platforms, we developed an ultrasonic–optical–electrical interventional system for dynamic visualization and precise ablation of pancreaticobiliary lesions, an optical–ultrasonic wearable patch for continuous carotid monitoring, and an ultrasound-based in vivo targeted delivery system for functional carriers. Together, these studies establish multimodal interventional and wearable platforms that enable closed-loop coordination of multiscale diagnosis and multifunctional therapy, improving the precision and spatiotemporal synchronization of diagnosis and treatment.

While effective, the author notes that the ultrasound focal volume is often too large to target specific neuronal populations precisely. The talk will present evidence regarding mechanosensitive ion channels as mediators of this process and detail the development of "sonogenetics," including in vitro and in vivo validation, pathway-specific targeting of behaviors, and potential applications for neurological disease models.