Fig. 2: Post-hoc LIFU beam analysis and targeting accuracy.

a Flowchart summarizing the beam analysis and simulation pipeline. b Lateral deviation of the beam from its target, defined as the Euclidean distance between the beam vector and the target coordinate. c, d Simulated c tissue-induced attenuation and d maximal tissue temperature. In (b–d), boxes indicate interquartile ranges, and white circles show median values. e Three-dimensional rendering of the mean relative beam intensity across participants. Colored regions highlight voxels where the mean relative intensity exceeds 10%. An arrow indicates the LIFU beam originating from the right side. f Zoomed-in view of (e), with dashed lines indicating the locations of cross-sections. Cross-sectional views in the g sagittal, h coronal, and i axial planes, displaying mean relative intensity and outlines of bilateral thalamic regions. Higher opacity reflects greater intensity. Bilateral coverage percentages for beams targeting left j VA, k VP, l DA, and m DP. The coverage percentage indicates how much of a beam-present volume (defined by > 50% intensity) falls within the thalamic (or other) regions. Boxes indicate mean values, and error bars show standard error. For (b), VA: n = 51; VP: n = 50; DA: n = 53; DP: n = 54. For (c–m), VA: n = 44; VP: n = 44; DA: n = 45; DP: n = 46. Color coding: VA (red), VP (green), DA (blue), and DP (yellow). VA ventroanterior thalamus, VP ventroposterior thalamus, DA dorsoanterior thalamus, DP dorsoposterior thalamus, LH left hemisphere, RH right hemisphere. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.