Three-dimensional automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) systems seem to offer excellent results in breast cancer screening tests and its early detection, comparable to handheld ultrasound B-mode scanning, with the benefit of saving physician time and reducing handheld ultrasound issues. Nevertheless, the ABUS systems are not very popular, due to the cost and very narrow application. The multi-angle conventional 3D ultrasound compound imaging method (MACUI) is intended for use with standard B-mode scanners in order to reduce cost but preserve the advantages of ABUS systems. The rotational probe movement is utilized in order to collect images for the three-dimensional reconstruction of the scanned tissue’s anatomy. The authors evaluate the capabilities to increase the scanned volume and quality of reconstructions, which are limited in current MACUI implementations, with a probe tilt and shift. The study shows and discusses the results of the imaging using different probes available for SmartUs Telemed B-Mode scanner at different scanning geometry in order to determine the capabilities of such an ultrasound imaging system. The results discussed in the paper highlight the benefits in quality improvement and scanning area obtained with tilted and shifted probes, as well as the advantages of using a relatively simple convex probe that does not incorporate software beam steering over more advanced devices.

No abstract

The purpose of this work is to examine the possibility of using multi-angle conventional ultrasound B-mode scanning in efficient 3-D imaging. In the paper, the volume of an object is reconstructed from vertical projections registered at fixed angular positions of the multi-element linear ultrasonic probe rotated in relation to the object submerged in water. The possible configurations are: vertical lateral, vertical top or vertical bottom. In the vertical lateral configuration, the ultrasonic probe acquires 2-D images of object's vertical cross-sections, turning around its lateral surface. In the vertical top or bottom configuration, the ultrasonic probe acquires 2-D images of the object's vertical cross-sections, turning on the horizontal plane over the top or under the bottom surface of the object.The method of recording 3-D volume of an object's structure and reconstruction algorithm have been designed. Studies show the method in the vertical top or bottom configuration could be successfully applied to the effective 3-D visualisation of the structure of the female breast in vivo as the new complement ultrasonic imaging modality in the prototype of the developed ultrasound tomography scanner.