Solid-State Amplifiers for Noninvasive Thermo-Acoustic Imaging to Diagnose Liver Fat and Other Medical Applications

An RF medical system based on Thermo-Acoustic Imaging (TAI) is presented that is used to quantify fat in the liver and has the potential to map tissue composition and temperature changes several-cm deep in the body helping clinicians to visualize tissue temperature and function, guide procedures that treat conditions such as cancer and atrial fibrillation, or identify arterial plaque and internal bleeding. TAI exploits ability of ultrasound sensors to detect the deep tissues’ mechanical expansion caused by kW microsecond 434MHz microwave pulses. In the past, these high-power pulses were produced with expensive, fragile, bulky, potentially unsafe and unreliable tube amplifiers that were limiting the full TAI potential. Endra has been pioneering the use of solid-state sources to increase quality, reliability, portability and reduce installation and maintenance cost. The presentation will cover the past, current and future technology used for TAI imaging system with an aim to bring this powerful, affordable and portable imaging system to millions of customers worldwide.