Quality assurance of therapeutic ultrasound devices

A research institute from northern Germany, active in metrology, has developed a traceable, spatial calibration technology which helps to determine calibration of therapeutic ultrasound devices factors more easily. The system makes use if thermochromic foils which are multilayer material combinations that are applied on a carrier material. When heated by external input, e.g. ultrasound, its color changes. The bigger the heat input, the larger is the radius of the discoloration (see image). The result contains 36 single measurements on the foil which characterize the therapeutic areas when applying different settings. A digital algorithm examines the intensity and the specific calibration factors of the different radii. As the demand for ultrasound technologies has increased over the last years, a routinely quality assurance of the devices has become indispensable to guarantee a successful therapy and improved safety for clients. The research institute is looking for licensees as suppliers of medical equipment and its maintenance interested to use the offered product as licensee.