黑料福利网

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already being used in many ways to improve quality of medical imaging (e.g., MRI, X-ray and ultrasound). In particular, improving the image quality of ultrasound can make affordable and reliable medical imaging accessible around the world, thanks to the (relatively) low cost of an ultrasound machine compared to, say, an MRI system. According to 黑料福利网 researcher Ruud van Sloun the missing puzzle to get more out of ultrasound imaging is to take inspiration from the brain and close the ultrasound perception-action loop: 鈥淚ntelligent agents, like the brain, seek information in a goal-directed manner, where new actions lead to perceptions and perceptions lead to new, optimized actions. Current imaging systems do not have a closed perception-action loop and always execute the same sequence of actions, regardless of past observations. That鈥檚 what I want to change. I believe we can make ultrasound smart so that it will actively start looking for the important information, just like humans do, with a closed perception-action loop.鈥� The European Research Council (ERC) has granted Van Sloun a Proof of Concept subsidy worth 鈧�150.000 for his research on cloud-native ultrasound imaging based on this new approach.

Van Sloun鈥檚 ERC starting grant project, US-ACT, proposes a brain-inspired paradigm for ultrasound imaging. It recognizes that the cycle of ultrasound data acquisition and reconstruction can be interpreted as a perception-action loop: the action is the acquisition, probing the anatomy, and the perception is the reconstruction that infers what anatomy most likely generated that acquired data. Through this lens, he interprets the ultrasound imaging system as an agent, which strives to perform actions and perceptions that minimize uncertainty about the anatomical world, and thus maximize important diagnostic information. To be effective at achieving this, the agent must understand the environment, and the consequences of actions on that environment. In US-ACT, this is achieved by equipping the agent with deep generative AI models that govern these beliefs.

Together with PostDoc and Doctoral Candidate , van Sloun is now working on a paradigm shift in imaging that is enabled by the US-ACT proposition: fully cloud-native ultrasound. Beatrice Federici explored the foundations for this new approach in her thesis 鈥淩eal-time Cloud-based Ultrasound System for Advanced Image Formation and Image Settings Autotuning鈥�, which recently won the 黑料福利网 Science Award for the best EngD thesis of 2023 (EngD course Design of Electrical Engineering Systems). Watch the pitch:  EngD Thesis: .

Unlimited computing power, memory and storage

鈥淚n this ERC proof-of-concept project, we intend to democratize access to this new high-quality ultrasound imaging paradigm developed in US-ACT, by introducing a fully cloud-native ultrasound imaging solution, unlocking access to virtually unlimited computational power, memory, and storage for raw ultrasound sensor data. This will enable unprecedented image quality and diagnostic insights at scale, all without sacrificing latency and frame rates. It will break the compromise between quality and cost in ultrasound. We will move all the computational complexity away from the local device to a cloud server, offering full scalability and no longer requiring the expensive and bulky cart that currently hosts all this compute and storage.

To achieve real-time low-latency communication of the raw ultrasound signals (which are Gigabits/s of data) across the network, we recast cloud-native ultrasound as a perception-action loop under a time-varying information bottleneck: the network channel. The agent鈥檚 intrinsic incentive to now also optimize an 鈥榓ge of information鈥� functional, will drive rate control of the full solution.鈥�

More on the researcher

Van Sloun works on advanced sensing and signal processing algorithms, with a special focus on deep learning methods for image formation and reconstruction problems. He has a background in probabilistic signal processing for ultrasound imaging exploiting signal structure and models to derive optimal estimators. He develops powerful signal processing and statistical inference solutions that efficiently leverage data / deep learning and model-based signal structure, predominantly applied to imaging problems. Applications span from ultrasound imaging and MRI to automotive radar.

In November 2022 Van Sloun received an ERC Starting Grant. ERC Starting Grants are personal grants of 1.5 million euros for five years鈥� worth of high risk - high gain fundamental research. The recipients of these grants are young, because applying for the grant can only be done within two to seven years after obtaining a PhD. The procedures are strict, the success percentages low, the competition high and the application period limited. Not only the impact of the research but also the impact of receiving an ERC grant on young scientists is big. Read more about his ERC Advanced Grant: /en/news-and-events/news-overview/22-11-2022-embarking-on-a-new-adventure-with-a-huge-european-grant

2000th ERC Proof of Concept grant awarded 

The European Research Council (ERC) has announced the award of 100 new Proof of Concept Grants, in the first round of the 2024 competition. This latest batch of grants includes the 2000th project to receive Proof of Concept funding since the scheme was introduced in 2011. Astrophysicist Nanda Rea, based at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient铆ficas (CSIC) in Spain, will manage this milestone project.

The grants 鈥� each worth 鈧�150,000 鈥� help researchers to bridge the gap between the discoveries stemming from their frontier research and the practical application of the findings, including early phases of their commercialization. 

The funding is part of the EU's research and innovation program, Horizon Europe.

About the ERC

The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organization for excellent frontier research. It funds creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based across Europe. The ERC offers four core grant schemes:鈥疭tarting Grants,鈥疌onsolidator Grants,鈥疉dvanced Grants鈥痑nd鈥疭ynergy Grants. With its additional鈥疨roof of Concept鈥疓rant scheme, the ERC helps grantees to bridge the gap between their pioneering research and early phases of its commercialization. The ERC is led by an independent governing body, the鈥疭cientific Council. Since November 2021, Maria Leptin is the President of the ERC. The overall ERC budget from 2021 to 2027 is more than 鈧�16 billion, as part of the鈥疕orizon Europe鈥痯rogram, under the responsibility of European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova.