Seismic imaging technology sees deep inside the brain

Amazing stuff! Could this be a breakthrough in brain imaging? Three-dimensional ultrasound tomography is highly mobile, easily repeatable, and can be used for continuous monitoring of the brain!

"In a new study, [researchers] turned to a computational technique known as full-waveform inversion (FWI), which is used by geophysicists to extract three-dimensional images of the Earth’s subsurface from data collected by seismometers on the passage of waves underground. A nonlinear data-fitting procedure, FWI works by using real-world seismic data to create a rough model of subsurface conditions from which wave equations can be solved to produce mock data. The model is then iteratively improved until this output provides the best fit for the real-world data.
Instead ... the researchers ... envisage using a helmet-like mesh of 1024 ultrasound transceivers. ... This is the first time FWI has been applied to the task of imaging inside a human skull"

Contrast this with the two leading current imaging technologies:
"Both of the leading conventional techniques for performing imaging on the brain come with inherent limitations. MR imaging is unsuitable for use on patients who have – or are suspected could have – metallic implants or harbour foreign bodies. It is also impractical for use on severely obese, claustrophobic or uncooperative patients. X-ray CT, meanwhile, involves exposure to harmful ionizing radiation, ruling out its use with young patients or for continuous monitoring. Both modalities also require large, expensive, high-powered machines that cannot practically be set up outside of hospital or laboratory settings."

Seismic imaging technology sees deep inside the brain – Physics World: A computational technique originally developed for seismic imaging can generate high-resolution ultrasound images of the brain