Acceleration of Ultrasound Neurostimulation Using Mixed-Precision Arithmetic

GPU, Nvidia, CUDA, k-Wave, Acceleration, Ultrasound, Acoustic waves, Neurostimulation, Mixed precision

Ultrasound neurostimulation, a technique that modulates the brain's electrical activity, has emerged as a significant secondary treatment option for cases resistant to pharmacological interventions. The therapy is achievable through the application of a three-dimensional steerable ultrasound, directed by patient-specific stimulation plans. These plans are meticulously crafted through full-wave ultrasound propagation simulations. Nonetheless, the computational intensity required for calculating these plans poses a significant challenge, often reaching the memory capacities of contemporary graphics processing units (GPUs). By representing material properties and k-space operators more efficiently, we achieved a 22% reduction in precision GPU memory usage, while accelerating calculations by 8.5%. This optimization introduced an error that reduced focal pressure by 0.5% without any focus movement, values that are clinically acceptable.