biostudies-literatureChen ZGuangdong High Level Innovation Research Institutethe National Key Research and Development Program of ChinaHong Kong Innovation Technology Fundinternal funding from the Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityGeneral Research Fundthe National Natural Science Foundation of Chinathe Hong Kong Research Grants Council Collaborative Research Fund0709https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12079190biostudies-literatureUnknown8Bedside monitoring of brain function in severely brain-injured patients remains a critical clinical challenge. We demonstrate the translational potential of functional ultrasound (fUS) imaging for this purpose. In 6 comatose patients (Glasgow coma scale ≤ 8) with cranial windows after decompressive craniectomy, we used a 7.8-MHz transducer optimized for cortical depths of 1.5 to 4 cm to perform real-time fUS during auditory stimulation. We observed task-related increases in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in relevant brain regions (<i>P</i> < 0.001, <i>t</i> test), which correlated with subsequent neurological recovery at 9-month follow-up. These findings establish fUS as a sensitive and portable tool for bedside brain function assessment, offering potential for improved prognosticatioResearch (Washington, D.C.)Functional Ultrasound Imaging of Auditory Responses in Comatose Patients.PMC12079190G-SACD and 1-CDJMMHP/014/192021B09090500043237115115224323 and 151045202023YFC2410900C5053-22GFSun LQiu ZXia JZhu JFei CChen ZHe JWu GXu HXi CLi NfalseFunctional Ultrasound Imaging of Auditory Responses in Comatose Patients.Bedside monitoring of brain function in severely brain-injured patients remains a critical clinical challenge. We demonstrate the translational potential of functional ultrasound (fUS) imaging for this purpose. In 6 comatose patients (Glasgow coma scale ≤ 8) with cranial windows after decompressive craniectomy, we used a 7.8-MHz transducer optimized for cortical depths of 1.5 to 4 cm to perform real-time fUS during auditory stimulation. We observed task-related increases in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in relevant brain regions (<i>P</i> < 0.001, <i>t</i> test), which correlated with subsequent neurological recovery at 9-month follow-up. These findings establish fUS as a sensitive and portable tool for bedside brain function assessment, offering potential for improved prognosticatio2025-01-01T00:00:00Z20252026-05-29T17:11:28.931Z2026-04-08T05:27:14.875ZS-EPMC120791904037592210.34133/research.0709