Research areas

The SFI CIUS combines frontier academic research in ultrasound at NTNU, the University of Oslo (UiO) and the University College of Southeast Norway (USN) with innovation in leading Norwegian companies working in medical, maritime, oil and gas industries, and user partners at every level in the healthcare sector.

High-end ultrasound technology is important for the in healthcare, maritime and oil & gas industries. Examples of usage are:

Healthcare industry: High-end medical ultrasound imaging in hospitals and primary care, with emphasis on diagnosis of cardiovascular disease and cancer
Maritime industry: Sea bed mapping, fish characterization, subsea monitoring
Oil & gas industry: Well integrity monitoring, downhole logging, pipeline inspection

In CIUS we exploit the existing synergies in ultrasound technology development across partners by delivering novel ultrasound technology solutions for the benefit of all CIUS partners. The CIUS idea is illustrated below.

Chart illustrating the CIUS research framework.

Meeting user needs

All CIUS partners recognise that their personnel require similar types of expertise and are faced with similar challenges. The synergies across all partners are most prominent within the field fundamental research and innovation on frontiers in ultrasound knowledge and technology, areas covered by work packages (WP) 1-4. WP 5-9, on the other hand, cover clinical and industry specific feasibility, validation and comparative studies. The interaction between the WPs is illustrated here:

Illustration of work package synergies within CIUS.

The WPs are designed to achieve CIUS' innovation goals based on our partners’ needs. Some of the specific needs in different sectors are presented below:

User needs within health care:

3D coronary anatomical and functional ultrasound imaging
Affordable user-friendly, ubiquitous ultrasound
High-resolutions ultrasound imaging for image-guided surgery

User needs within oil & gas:

Well integrity monitoring
Monitoring of pipelines/risers

User needs within the maritime sector:

Seabed classification
Long-term monitoring of the ocean envirmonment

Work Packages (WP)

In CIUS we have nine different work packages (WP) as research method and approach to achieve our innovation goals. WP1-4 represent fundamental research, whereas WP5-9 concentrate on feasibility and validation studies to achieve user specific innovation goals.

Frontier in ultrasound knowledge and technology