Optimization-Derived Distortion Correction in Transcranial Focused Ultrasound for Grating Lobe Suppression

Transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) is an emerging technique for the treatment of brain disorders. However, achieving high-quality focusing remains challenging due to acoustic distortions introduced by the skull. Time-reversal-based compensation mitigates these distortions by leveraging the reciprocity principle between transducers and the focal point. Nevertheless, it neglects the surrounding pressure field, often resulting in obvious grating lobes and an enlarged focal spot. This work aims to enhance focal quality by incorporating broader acoustic field information into the correction process. The distortion correction is converted into an optimization problem and solved in spherical coordinates. The feasibility of the method was verified via simulation results.