Full wave inversion uses all of the information from the wave and more intense computational tomography to image structures that pulse wave B mode cannot, though gases are still a problem. Computationally, if you squint, it's similar to the work Midjourney does with AI image generation, as it progressively generates a structure that fits the data.
Ultrasonic waves can penetrate most structures in humans, including the brain. For example, with focused ultrasound (as they mentioned with MRgFUS) you can burn specific structures in the middle of the brain without any incision.
To use this for imaging, you need lots of transducers (MRgFUS typically uses 1024 for ablation, and Midjourney is proposing 358,000 for imaging) and massive advances in computational tomography capabilities. There will still likely be pockets of low confidence where there's a lot of air, like in the lungs. But with sufficient information on what's happening around those areas, you'd still have something that's medically useful.
Also, "useful" here doesn't have to mean useful in the current medical system; it's probably a net negative for a healthy 20 year old to partake in current full body imaging for the reasons hashed out elsewhere. But if you have ~monthly high resolution scans that show progression and something that detects meaningful anomalies over time, that could help detect issues earlier.
This doesn't solve everything, but it would help for some. For example, my cousin passed away at 23 from cancer that was caught only after it metastasized. No doctor would have encouraged a full-body MRI for her as a healthy 20 year old, but an earlier detection that took place as a part of a normal social outing could have shaped the outcome.
Full wave inversion uses all of the information from the wave and more intense computational tomography to image structures that pulse wave B mode cannot, though gases are still a problem. Computationally, if you squint, it's similar to the work Midjourney does with AI image generation, as it progressively generates a structure that fits the data.
Ultrasonic waves can penetrate most structures in humans, including the brain. For example, with focused ultrasound (as they mentioned with MRgFUS) you can burn specific structures in the middle of the brain without any incision.
To use this for imaging, you need lots of transducers (MRgFUS typically uses 1024 for ablation, and Midjourney is proposing 358,000 for imaging) and massive advances in computational tomography capabilities. There will still likely be pockets of low confidence where there's a lot of air, like in the lungs. But with sufficient information on what's happening around those areas, you'd still have something that's medically useful.
Also, "useful" here doesn't have to mean useful in the current medical system; it's probably a net negative for a healthy 20 year old to partake in current full body imaging for the reasons hashed out elsewhere. But if you have ~monthly high resolution scans that show progression and something that detects meaningful anomalies over time, that could help detect issues earlier.
This doesn't solve everything, but it would help for some. For example, my cousin passed away at 23 from cancer that was caught only after it metastasized. No doctor would have encouraged a full-body MRI for her as a healthy 20 year old, but an earlier detection that took place as a part of a normal social outing could have shaped the outcome.