Development of a dual-gate automatic embolus detection system

Transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) has been widely used to identify micro-emboli in the cerebral circulation and can provide valuable clinical information, but currently micro-embolic signal (MES) detection and analysis are significantly limited because they rely mainly on costly off-line analysis by human experts. Two new high-resolution real-time automated systems based on expert system classification theory have been designed and developed for the detection and archival of MESs. In addition to the Doppler signal processing features of the two systems, the later version is equipped with a built-in programmable TCD unit. The systems have been evaluated in-vitro and in-vivo, and preliminary results are presented.