New technology for monitoring heart disease and stroke: Dual-frequency ultrasound can diagnose the cause

       According to media reports, existing ultrasound technology can identify "plaque" accumulated on the walls of arteries to determine whether it is at risk of collapsing and causing a heart attack or stroke. Researchers at the University of North Carolina have developed a "dual-frequency ultrasound device" that can not only identify so-called "vulnerable plaques," but also has a higher diagnostic accuracy rate for patients with high-risk plaques.

        For "disruptive plaques", the detection method requires the use of so-called "microbubble contrast agents". Researchers have found that after injecting microbubbles into the blood, they will be attracted to the molecules of disruptive plaques, and then they can effectively highlight these areas in ultrasound images.

        The NC State researchers said that devices that use this approach are not optimized for detecting contrast agents because they are designed for high-frequency imaging modes. So they developed a 'dual-frequency intravascular ultrasound transducer' to both transmit and receive acoustic signals.

        Because it works at two frequencies, we are able to achieve the functions of existing ultrasound equipment and also make it easier for microbubble molecular imaging.