Ze[US] Project
Unveiling the Unseen Pulse of Life
The Hidden Frontier Awaits
What If We Could See the Invisible?
Imagine a technology that doesn’t just snapshot your body but captures a live, high‑definition movie of your entire vascular system—from the thundering flow in major arteries to the whisper-thin streams in microscopic capillaries.
Ze[US], the Zetta UltraSound revolution, is that breakthrough the world’s first multiscale, multi‑organ ultrasound imager, designed to shift healthcare from reactive treatment to proactive prevention.
Targeting the deadliest threats—cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, and cancers—this French-led innovation acquires data at ultrafast speeds of up to 10,000 volumes per second, processing a staggering 1012 bits per second and acquiring up to 1021 bits of medical data in its first year of existence (that’s zetta-scale computing, equivalent to downloading the entire Netflix library in a blink).
For scientists, this means unprecedented resolution down to the micron level, enabling real-time mapping of tissue elasticity, blood velocity, and functional activity across multiple organs simultaneously. For everyone else, it’s like having a personal guardian angel spotting health risks years before symptoms appear—no radiation, no invasive procedures, just safe, automated insights.
Discover the dawn of predictive medicine.
Scroll to unlock the body’s hidden stories.
The Enigma Revealed
What Lies Beneath?
Unlocking Secrets Long Buried in our Bodies
For too long, medical imaging has been like peering through a keyhole—limited views of isolated organs, poor spatiotemporal resolutions, dependent on skilled operators, and often detecting issues only after they’ve escalated.
But what if we could illuminate the entire landscape?
Ze[US] —short for Zetta UltraSound—aims to radically transform traditional ultrasound into a powerhouse capable of providing whole-body coverage in a single session.
Building on two decades of French breakthroughs in ultrafast ultrasound (reaching ~10,000 volumes per second), superresolution imaging, and AI-driven analysis, it reconstructs the full human vascular network with extreme precision.
Ze[US]] leverages advanced techniques like ultrasound localization microscopy for micron-scale vascular mapping and functional ultrasound neuroimaging to track brain activity in real time.
This will generate Zetabits of structured data, fueling AI models for biomarker discovery and digital twins—virtual replicas of your body organs for simulating and exploring health scenarios.
Led by Inserm at the Institute of Physics for Medicine in Paris, with support from France 2030 and the French National Research Agency (ANR), Ze[US] DNA is geared toward safer care, reduced costs, and equitable access.
« Ze[US] will propel Ultrasound from a tool to a cornerstone of personalized, predictive medicine, » says Project Director Mickaël Tanter.
Intrigued?
Dive deeper into the core pillars that power this enigma.
Pillars of the Unknown
Core Revelations
Pillar 1
From Shadows to Clarity
Whole-Body to Micron Mastery What secrets lurk in the uncharted territories of your organs?
Ze[US] ] unveils dynamic data across scales: from ultra-wide anatomical scans to micron-precision details of vascular and functional activity.
Scientifically, this involves capturing spatiotemporal maps of tissue elasticity (via elastography) and blood velocity (via ultrafast Doppler), revealing subtle biomechanical shifts—such as early stiffening of heart muscle (myocardial stiffness) or irregular flow in brain perfusion.
In simple terms, it’s like zooming from a satellite view of Earth to street-level details, spotting risks such as heart failure, neurodegenerative disorders, or stroke precursors years ahead.
Pillar 2
The Data Deluge
Fueling AI’s Insights How can raw data become life‑saving foresight?
Ze[US] generates massive, high-fidelity datasets—over one terabit per second (roughly 100 HD movies streaming simultaneously)—for training AI on early biomarkers, creating digital twins, and developing next-gen devices.
For experts, this means structured information for predictive analytics, such as modeling tumor angiogenesis (new blood vessel growth) or neurological pathways.
For the rest of us, it’s your body’s « weather forecast »: AI sifts through the flood to predict storms like cardiovascular events, turning guesswork into personalized prevention plans.
Pillar 3
Echoes of Innovation
Translational Mysteries Can cutting‑edge tech escape the lab and enter everyday life?
Ze[US]’s modular design spawns « satellite » tools, such as the Cardioscope—a smart sensor quantifying 3D heart fiber orientation and stiffness in milliseconds per heartbeat for out-of-hospital screening or a unique neuroimaging ultrasound scanner monitoring neonates brain function in the first days of life.
Scientifically, it also builds on sonogenetics: using ultrasound to activate mechanosensitive proteins in neurons for therapies such as remote visual cortex stimulation to restore sight in blind patients.
Portable technologies that will bring elite diagnostics home, like today’s smartwatches detecting heart issues at home, scalable from research prototypes to patients and users.
The Technological Thriller
Conquering the Impossible
Daring to Defy the Limits – What Challenges Lurk in the Depths?
Ze[US] tackles unprecedented hurdles across three challenges: multi-organ, multiscale imaging, miniaturized smart sensors, and sonogenetic neuromodulation, handling data volumes that dwarf supercomputers while keeping systems portable.
Key specs include 10,000+ channel matrix probes for single-acquisition organ capture, evolving to ASIC-based Gen-2 chips for low-power efficiency.
Miniaturized Smart Probes
Ultra-high-density arrays (far beyond today’s few hundred elements) paired with programmable electronics to image entire organs without motion. In other words, it’s like upgrading from a point-and-shoot camera to an IMAX array that snaps everything at once.
Data Mastery
High-rate pipelines manage 10¹² bytes/second for real-time reconstruction and visualization—slashing storage while delivering instant insights.
Sonogenetic Whispers
Remote ultrasound activation of engineered neurons in the visual cortex, using 3D probes for precise, durable implants and software for signal encoding. Potential: « Lighting up » blind spots to restore vision, a sci-fi leap grounded in mechanosensitive protein tech.
Spotlight
The Cardioscope, measuring myocardial mechanics per heartbeat for early heart failure detection—perfect for remote monitoring.
Feel the tension?
See how these feats reshape reality.
Impacts That Echo Eternally
The Ripple of Revelation
What If Prevention Were the Ultimate Plot Twist?
Europe loses over 3 million lives annually to cardiovascular, oncologic, and neurodegenerative diseases, costing hundreds of billions.
Ze[US] aims to reverse this by detecting subtle changes pre-symptoms—e.g., vascular anomalies via micro-angiography or tissue shifts via elastography.
Early Applications
Cerebrovascular Health: Monitor perfusion to detect strokes early for high-risk patients.
Cardiac Screening: Cardioscope enables remote checks, quantifying stiffness to catch heart failure.
Oncology Tracking: High-res maps tumor microvasculature for early detection, classification, and therapy monitoring.
Early Applications
Cerebrovascular Health: Monitor perfusion to detect strokes early for high-risk patients.
Cardiac Screening: Cardioscope enables remote checks, quantifying stiffness to catch heart failure.
Oncology Tracking: High-res maps tumor microvasculature for early detection, classification, and therapy monitoring.
The Vision
A world where diseases are outpaced, not endured – saving lives and billions.
Partners & Governance
Who Reveals the Gateway to the Unseen?
Ze[US] is a French initiative—coordinated by Inserm and uniting France’s world-renowned actors in the field:
Academics:
- Institute of Physics for Medicine Paris, leveraging cutting-edge wave physics concepts into clinical breakthrough innovations
- Institut de la Vision, unlocking the full potential of ultrasound brain-machine interfaces.
Industrials:
- Vermon (high-density transducers)
- Moduleus (ultrafast electronics)
- Iconeus (neuroimaging expertise)
- eMyoSound (acoustic innovations)
- DOLIAM Group (tech portfolio uniting MedTech and DeepTech startups and leaders)
- Designers Associés (humanizing designs since 1993)
Backed by France 2030 and the French National Research Agency (ANR), Ze[US] reinforces national sovereignty, exporting breakthroughs globally.
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The body’s secrets await your discovery.
