The New Generation Ultrasound “Microscope”! A team from Nanjing University has developed an ultrafast ultrasound localization microscopy technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 21-Sep-2025 19:11 ET (21-Sep-2025 23:11 GMT/UTC)
Professors Juan Tu, Dong Zhang, Jingning Zhu, and Academician Ning Gu from Nanjing University developed an ultrafast ultrasound localization microscopy algorithm combining velocity constraints and motion compensation. This breakthrough technique achieves super-resolution imaging of microvascular networks in organs like the rat brain and kidney, producing high-definition “microscopic maps of life pathways”. It provides a powerful new imaging tool for medical research and the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular and microcirculatory diseases. The work, titled “Velocity-Constraint Kalman Filtering for Enhanced Bubble Tracking in Motion Compensated Ultrasound Localization Microscopy”, was recently published in Research (2025, 8:0725, DOI: 10.34133/research.0725).
The treatment of gastrointestinal and urinary system diseases has long been plagued by limitations of traditional drug delivery methods, such as low drug concentration at target sites, lack of specificity in release, and short in vivo retention time, all of which result in suboptimal therapeutic efficacy. Magnetic microrobots, with their advantages of non-contact actuation, deep tissue penetration, and non-radiative operation, have emerged as ideal candidates for in vivo targeted drug delivery. However, existing manufacturing methods for magnetic robots have significant drawbacks: mold-assisted pre-deforming magnetization methods struggle to achieve complex deformations; emerging customizable fabrication techniques, such as nozzle magnetization during direct ink writing and laser-induced local remagnetization, can control the remnant magnetization of robot components to a certain extent but lack uniform and high-precision 3D magnetic fields, limiting the functional complexity and deformation accuracy of magnetic robots. To address these limitations, this study developed in-situ pixel-scale magnetic programming 3D printing technology, aiming to break through the bottlenecks of existing manufacturing techniques.
Thermoelectric materials, capable of direct conversion between thermal and electrical energy, have garnered significant attention for their potential in energy recovery and microelectronic power supply. Among various thermoelectric material systems, binary indium chalcogenides (In-X, X = Te, Se, S) stand out due to their exceptionally low thermal conductivity. On June 10, 2024, Professor Yang Jiong's team at Shanghai University published a Review titled “Structural Characteristics and Recent Advances in Thermoelectric Binary Indium Chalcogenides” in Research (DOI: 10.34133/research.0727). The work systematically analyzes the crystal structure features of binary indium chalcogenides, employs first-principles calculations to reveal their electronic band and phonon dispersion, and discusses the influence of unconventional chemical bonds (e.g., In-In bonds) and mixed valence states on electronic structure and lattice vibrations, elucidating potential physical mechanisms behind their low thermal conductivity. The review also summarizes experimental optimization strategies such as defect engineering, crystal orientation engineering, nano-structuring, and grain size engineering, with a focus on synergistic optimization of electrical and thermal transport properties through doping and vacancy modulation. Additionally, the work outlines major challenges and future directions for binary indium chalcogenides in thermoelectric applications, providing critical guidance for designing high-performance thermoelectric materials.