Dr. Forsberg is a Professor in the Department of Radiology at Thomas Jefferson University where he focuses his research in the field of contrast enhanced ultrasound imaging, in particular subharmonic imaging, subharmonic aided pressure estimation as well as ultrasound image processing and Elastography. His PhD was focused in medical engineering and physics. His career has included serving as a biomedical engineer in Finland, a research assistant in Denmark, and an ultrasound physicist and software engineer in England before he finally crossed the pond in 1992 to join the faculty of Thomas Jefferson University (TJU). A tenured professor of radiology and director of ultrasound physics, Dr. Forsberg has been the principal investigator on dozens of ground-breaking research projects, as well as principal investigator for 30+ industrial grants and coinvestigator for 100 other research endeavors for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Defense (DoD), nonprofit organizations, and industry. He has 145+ papers in peer-reviewed journals and more than 480 conference proceedings. In addition, he has served as a grant reviewer for the NIH, the DoD, the American Heart Association, the Radiological Society of North America, and the Swedish Research Council. Dr. Forsberg was chosen as the 2015 recipient of the Joseph H Holmes Basic Science Pioneer Award.
Abstract
The use of gas filled microbubbles (1-10 um in diameter) as vascular tracers and contrast agents for ultrasound imaging is well established. Such contrast agents are used worldwide to improve the diagnostic capabilities of ultrasound imaging especially when employed in combination with novel nonlinear contrast imaging modes such pulse inversion second harmonic and subharmonic imaging (SHI). Dr Forsberg's group produced the first ever human SHI images. They have previously shown that SHI signals can indicate hydrostatic pressures in vitro and has developed a noninvasive pressure measurement technique, known as subharmonic-aided pressure estimation (SHAPE), based on this principle. Noninvasive SHAPE measurements may be a useful alternative to catheter-based measurements of cardiac conditions or portal hypertension. Here, he will present results from our pre-clinical and clinical trials on the utility of quantitative SHI and SHAPE.
