Next-Generation Ultrasound Imaging for Skin Diagnosis

This project develops advanced ultrasound imaging techniques for quantitative assessment of skin thickness and mechanical properties. Skin is a highly heterogeneous material, and current clinical assessment methods are largely subjective, limiting the early detection of damage and disease. By exploiting recent advances in matrix imaging and computational ultrasound, the work aims to extract clinically relevant biomechanical information from single-sided measurements, overcoming the limitations of conventional approaches.

High-fidelity numerical simulations will be used to model ultrasound propagation in realistic skin structures, including scenarios involving wound development and damage at prosthetic interfaces. These models will guide the optimisation of imaging algorithms, which will be validated experimentally using laboratory phantoms and clinical ultrasound data in collaboration with medical partners. The techniques developed will enable more objective assessment of skin health, supporting applications such as early detection of pressure ulcers, improved wound monitoring, and more reliable differentiation between benign and malignant skin lesions.

Process of ultrasound imaging of the skin for improved mapping of material properties