A Soft Housing Needle Ultrasonic Transducer for Focal Stimulation to Small Animal Brain

Conventional acoustic brain stimulators that transmit low frequency (< 1 MHz) bursts in a pulse repetition frequency with large-sized transducers are barely compatible with small animal models because of broad beam width, possible stimulation of auditory pathways, and blocking of field-of-view for in vivo imaging of brain hemodynamics and neuronal activities. A miniaturized ultrasound stimulator with higher stimulation frequencies will enhance...