RUS-PAT 3D Imaging: Revolutionizing Surgical and Trauma Assessments

RUS-PAT offers rapid, noninvasive 3D imaging for surgical and trauma assessment by combining volumetric soft-tissue and vascular visualization with bedside speed and portability.

The system captures tissue structure and hemoglobin-based vascular contrast through a rotational sweep of ultrasound detectors synchronized with photoacoustic illumination, producing clinically actionable anatomic detail that can shorten assessment and planning intervals in acute care.

The platform pairs a rotating arc of ultrasound detectors with synchronized photoacoustic excitation to create a circumferential acquisition geometry, yielding co-registered backscatter soft-tissue contrast and hemoglobin-derived vascular maps in the same volumetric dataset.

Acquisition is fast—regional sweeps can produce a 3D volume in roughly ten seconds—and a rapid reconstruction pipeline delivers screen-ready volume renderings and segmented vessel overlays for immediate review at the bedside. Typical workflows position the patient supine or in limb-specific poses while the device encircles the region of interest, enabling preoperative planning and bedside trauma assessment with near-immediate 3D outputs.

Faster, nonionizing 3D imaging can shorten triage intervals, enable earlier operative planning, and reduce time-to-decision for selected trauma and acute surgical cases. In practice, this may shift workflow toward earlier anatomic delineation at the bedside, reduce some immediate transfers to CT or MRI, and speed intraoperative mapping of vascular injuries—provided the device is integrated into imaging pathways, PACS ingestion, and multidisciplinary protocols.

The NIH-funded proof-of-concept study showed that the approach captures tissue and vessel structure across clinically useful regions and can inform rapid clinical interpretation in early testing, supporting immediate applicability in selected scenarios.

However, key limitations remain. Skull-induced signal distortion limits transcranial fidelity unless surgical windows are present. Depth–resolution trade-offs persist relative to CT and MRI, and image stability currently depends on algorithmic correction and hardware refinement. Broader clinical adoption will require larger multicenter cohorts, regulatory clearance, and implementation planning to address device footprint in acute-care spaces, staff training, and IT/PACS interoperability. Near-term milestones include targeted skull-correction algorithms, hardware extensions for deeper penetration while preserving resolution, multicenter validation, and regulatory submissions.

Validation, IT integration, and regulatory pathways are the next steps as the technology progresses from proof-of-concept toward regulated, interoperable clinical tools that can be deployed in acute-care settings.

Key Takeaways:

• RUS-PAT generates rapid, co-registered soft-tissue and vascular 3D volumes from a single, nonionizing sweep.
• Trauma surgeons, acute care teams, and imaging services for limb, breast, and selected cranial cases are early beneficiaries.
• Early workflows may adopt bedside 3D mapping for selected cases while multicenter validation and IT integration proceed.