Research

My reserach interests include detecting and preventing physiological issues with Humans. I am working on a research project that is focused on coming up with a new clinical technique to detect tissue motion and blood flow charecteristics in the human body using Vector Doppler Imaging. This novel technique can be used to detect tissue & vascular condition in patients with terminal & chonic diseases like Artherosclerosis, Cerebral Palsy and Multiple Sclerosis. This technique has been tested in-vitro and given very good results. We intentd to make this technique a widely used clinical tool to improve the quality of life of such patients.

My research is based at Bio-Medical Imaging Laboratory which has a state of the art Ultrasound(US) machine capable of both Research and Clinical settings. This system has an open research interface that allows us full control of all the ultrasound imaging parameters.

Up-coming Conferences I would be Attending:

1. IEEE International Ultrasonics Conference, 2010.IUS'10

2. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference, Buenos Aires, August 31st - September 4th, 2010.EMBS '10

3. Ultrasonic Imaging and Tissue Characterization Symposium, 2010.UITC'10

4. Southeast Biomedical Engineering Conference,2009.SEBECC'09

5. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference, Minneapolis, September 2-6, 2009.EMBS '09

 

Peer Reviewed Journal Publications:

1.Lebiedowska M, Sikdar S, Eranki A, Garmirian L. The knee joint angular velocity and acceleration equivalent to the patellar tendon reflex. Journal of Neoroscience Methods. 2010 ;

2.Eranki A, Curatalo L, Prosser L, Stanley C, Bland D, Alter K, Damaino D and Sikdar S. Quantitative measurement of tibialis anterior tendon velocities using vector tissue Doppler imaging. Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. 2010;

Refereed Conference Publications:

1.Eranki A, Otto P, Curatalo L, Prosser L, Damaino D, Alter K and Sikdar S . Measurement of Tendon Velocities using Vector Tissue Doppler Imaging and Curved M-Mode in patients with Cerebral Palsy. Proc. the 2011 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, 2011; (Accepted)

2.Otto P, Curatalo L, Eranki A, Prosser L, Damaino D, Alter K and Sikdar S . Quantitative Tracking of Tendon Motion from Ultrasonic Imagery using Curved M-Mode. Proc. the 2011 Ultrasonic Imaging and Tissue Characterization, 2011; (In press)

3.Eranki A, Sikdar S, Stanley C, Prosser L, Bellini L, Bland D, Alter K, Damaino D . Measuring Tendon velocities using Vector Tissue Doppler Imaging. Conf Proc Acoustical Society of America. 2010;

4.Eranki A, Almuhanna K and Sikdar S. Characterization of a Vector Doppler System based on an Array Transducer. Conf Proc IEEE Ultrasonics International Conference. 2010 (In Press);

5..Eranki A, Bellini L, Prosser L, Stanley C, Bland D, Alter K, Damaino D and Sikdar S. Measurement of Tendon Velocities using Vector Tissue Doppler Imaging: A Feasibility Study. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2010;

6..Eranki A, Sikdar S. Experimental Characterization of a Vector Doppler System Based on a Clinical Ultrasound Scanner. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2009;

7.Sikdar S, Lebiedowska M, Eranki A, Garmirian L, Damiano D. Measurement of Rectus Femoris Muscle Velocities During Patellar Tendon Jerk Using Vector Tissue Doppler Imaging. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2009;

Master's Thesis:

1.Eranki A . Measurement of Musculoskeletal Motion Using Vector Tissue Doppler Imaging. George Mason University. 2010;

PDF Version Master's Thesis by Avinash Eranki;

 

Selected Abstracts:

1. Experimental Characterization of a Vector Doppler System Based on a Clinical Ultrasound Scanner:

Abstract

We have developed a vector Doppler system using a clinical ultrasound scanner with a research interface. In this system, vector Doppler estimation is performed by electronically dividing a linear array transducer into a transmit sub-aperture and two receive sub-apertures. The receive beams are electronically steered, and two velocity components are estimated from echoes received from the beam overlap region. The velocity vector is reconstructed from these two estimates. The goal of this study was to characterize this vector Doppler system in vitro using a string phantom with a pulsatile velocity waveform. We studied the effect of four parameters on the estimation error: beam steering angle, angle of the velocity vector, depth of the scatterer relative to the beam overlap region and the transmit focus depth. Our results show that changing these parameters have minimal effect on the velocity and angle estimates, and robust velocity vector estimates can be obtained under a variety of conditions. The mean velocity error was less than 0.06 × pulse repetition frequency. The velocity estimates are sensitive to the Doppler estimation method. Our results indicate that vector Doppler using a linear array transducer is feasible for a wide range of imaging parameters. Such a system would facilitate the investigation of complex blood flow and tissue motion in human subjects.

 

 

2. Measurement of Rectus Femoris Muscle Velocities During Patellar Tendon Jerk Using Vector Tissue Doppler Imaging:

Abstract

We have developed a vector tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) system based on a clinical scanner that can be used to measure muscle velocities independent of the direction of motion. This method overcomes the limitations of conventional Doppler ultrasound, which can only measure velocity components along the ultrasound beam. In this study, we utilized this method to investigate the rectus femoris muscle velocities during a patellar tendon jerk test. Our goal was to investigate whether the muscle elongation velocities during a brisk tendon tap fall within the normal range of velocities that are expected due to rapid stretch of limb segments. In a preliminary study, we recruited six healthy volunteers (three men and three women) following informed consent. The stretch reflex response to tendon tap was evaluated by measuring: (1) the tapping force using an accelerometer instrumented to the neurological hammer (2) the angular velocities of the knee extension and flexion using a electrogoniometer (3) reflex activation using electromyography (EMG) and (4) muscle elongation, extension and flexion velocities using vector TDI. The passive joint angular velocity was linearly related to the passive muscle elongation velocity (R2=0.88). The maximum estimated joint angular velocity corresponding to muscle elongation due to tendon tap was less than 8.25 radians/s. This preliminary study demonstrates the feasibility of vector TDI for measuring longitudinal muscle velocities and indicates that the muscle elongation velocities during a clinical tendon tap test are within the normal range of values for rapid limb stretch encountered in daily life. With further refinement, vector TDI could become a powerful method for quantitative evaluation of muscle motion in musculoskeletal disorders.

 

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