ULTRA
CGI and Sound, 2020.

Commissioned by ArtxScience:
EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Smart Medical Imaging and the Royal College of Art.

Ultra is an ongoing collaboration with Carlos Cueto Mondejar. Myself and Carlos are working towards an installation using the schlieren imaging technique for July 2021.

In our first sound piece, we take you inside the brain to listen to ultrasound waves travelling through the organ. The piece is created using data from a simulation experiment in which the human brain is modelled using mathematics. Each sound motif correlates to the ultrasound wave passing through a different structure, from blood vessels to neurons.

I am consistently inspired by the innovation and hope that science brings. I was excited by the opportunity to communicate the potential of ultrasound to improve lives by diagnosing strokes at a much faster speed. Listen to the sound piece here.

Scientist Carlos Cueto takes you inside the brain to explore how ultrasound could be used to detect blood clots or burst vessels. Play with waves and explore how they become distorted with each added obstacle. In his research, Carlos is developing algorithms that could interpret the ultrasound signal to help diagnose strokes.

Carlos was interested in the opportunity to collaborate with an artist, using expertise from two seemingly different disciplines, as a way to make ultrasound tangible and visible. He aims to open a conversation between the public and researchers in which to explore how ultrasound can be used to image the brain.

Carlos' Research

Ultrasound is a high frequency sound wave that is beyond the range of human hearing. It is safe and fast, and has been used to image the human body, from babies to bladders, for decades. But not the adult brain.

To harness ultrasound to image the brain, algorithms are being developed that interpret the signal. This would allow blood clots or burst vessels, which can cause strokes, to be quickly identified.

This could be life saving. Strokes are the second most common cause of death worldwide and the leading cause for acquired adult neurological disability. Strokes must be diagnosed and treated quickly for treatment to be effective. Delays of just 15 min