A Computationally Efficient Mean Sound Speed Estimation Method Based on an Evaluation of Focusing Quality for Medical Ultrasound Imaging

Lee, Jaejin; Yoo, Yangmo; Yoon, Changhan; Song, Tai-Kyong

doi:10.3390/electronics8111368

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 27 publications

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“…They reported estimated sound speed errors ranging from 1.8 to 6.6%. Park et al [64] and Lee et al [65] presented computationally efficient methods to estimate the mean sound speed as well as enhance spatial and contrast resolution. Here, the focusing quality was measured by computing the minimum average sum of the absolute difference (MASAD) of raw radio-frequency (RF) data during receive beamforming in the ROI.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stratified-Medium Sound Speed Profiling for CPWC Ultrasound Imaging

D'Souza

Rakhmatov

2020

2020 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS)

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Coherent plane-wave compounding (CPWC) ultrasound is an important modality enabling ultrafast biomedical imaging. To perform CWPC image reconstruction for a stratified (horizontally layered) medium, one needs to know how the speed of sound (SOS) varies with the propagation depth. Incorrect sound speed and layer thickness assumptions can cause focusing errors, degraded spatial resolution and significant geometrical distortions resulting in poor image reconstruction. We aim to determine the speed of sound and thickness values for each horizontal layer to accurately locate the recorded reflection events to their true locations within the medium. Our CPWC image reconstruction process is based on phase-shift migration (PSM) that requires the user to specify the speed of sound and thickness of each layer in advance. Prior to performing phase-shift migration (one layer at a time, starting from the surface), we first estimate the speed of sound values of a given layer using a cosine similarity metric, based on the data obtained by a multi-element transducer array for two different plane-wave emission angles. Then, we use our speed estimate to identify the layer thickness via end-of-layer boundary detection. A low-cost alternative that obtains reconstructed images with fewer phase shifts (i.e., fewer complex multiplications) using a spectral energy threshold is also proposed in this thesis. Our evaluation results, based on the CPWC imaging simulation of a three-layer medium, show that our sound speed and layer thickness estimates are within 4% of their true values (i.e., those used to generate simulated data). We have also confirmed the accuracy of our speed and layer thickness estimation separately, using two experimental datasets representing two special cases. For speed estimation, we used iv a CPWC imaging dataset for a constant-speed (i.e., single-layer) medium, yielding estimates within 1% of their true values. For layer thickness estimation, we used a monostatic (i.e., single-element) synthetic-aperture (SA) imaging dataset of the threelayer medium, also yielding estimates within 1% of their true values. Our evaluation results for the low-cost alternative showed a 93% reduction in complex multiplications for the three-layer CPWC imaging dataset and 76% for the three-layer monostatic SA imaging dataset, producing images nearly similar to those obtained using the original PSM methods.

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Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stratified-Medium Sound Speed Profiling for CPWC Ultrasound Imaging

D'Souza

Rakhmatov

2020

2020 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS)

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Ultrasonic Sound Speed Estimation for Liver Fat Quantification: A Review by the AIUM-RSNA QIBA Pulse-Echo Quantitative Ultrasound Initiative

Wang¹,

Bamber²,

Esquivel‐Sirvent³

et al. 2023

Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology

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Estimation of Thickness and Speed of Sound for Transverse Cortical Bone Imaging Using Phase Aberration Correction Methods: An In Silico and Ex Vivo Validation Study

2022

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Delay-and-sum (DAS) beamforming of backscattered echoes is used for conventional ultrasound imaging. Although DAS beamforming is well suited for imaging in soft tissues, refraction, scattering, and absorption, porous mineralized tissues cause phase aberrations of reflected echoes and subsequent image degradation. The recently developed refraction corrected multi-focus technique uses subsequent focusing of waves at variable depths, the tracking of travel times of waves reflected from outer and inner cortical bone interfaces, the estimation of the shift needed to focus from one interface to another to determine cortical thickness (Ct.Th), and the speed of sound propagating in a radial bone direction (Ct.ν11). The method was validated previously in silico and ex vivo on plate shaped samples. The aim of this study was to correct phase aberration caused by bone geometry (i.e., curvature and tilt with respect to the transducer array) and intracortical pores for the multi-focus approach. The phase aberration correction methods are based on time delay estimation via bone geometry differences to flat bone plates and via the autocorrelation and cross correlation of the reflected ultrasound waves from the endosteal bone interface. We evaluate the multi-focus approach by incorporating the phase aberration correction methods by numerical simulation and one experiment on a human tibia bone, and analyze the precision and accuracy of measuring Ct.Th and Ct.ν11. Site-matched reference values of the cortical thickness of the human tibia bone were obtained from high-resolution peripheral computed tomography. The phase aberration correction methods resulted in a more precise (coefficient of variation of 5.7%) and accurate (root mean square error of 6.3%) estimation of Ct.Th, and a more precise (9.8%) and accurate (3.4%) Ct.ν11 estimation, than without any phase aberration correction. The developed multi-focus method including phase aberration corrections provides local estimations of both cortical thickness and sound velocity and is proposed as a biomarker of cortical bone quality with high clinical potential for the prevention of osteoporotic fractures.

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A Computationally Efficient Mean Sound Speed Estimation Method Based on an Evaluation of Focusing Quality for Medical Ultrasound Imaging

Cited by 4 publications

References 27 publications

Stratified-Medium Sound Speed Profiling for CPWC Ultrasound Imaging

Stratified-Medium Sound Speed Profiling for CPWC Ultrasound Imaging

Ultrasonic Sound Speed Estimation for Liver Fat Quantification: A Review by the AIUM-RSNA QIBA Pulse-Echo Quantitative Ultrasound Initiative

Estimation of Thickness and Speed of Sound for Transverse Cortical Bone Imaging Using Phase Aberration Correction Methods: An In Silico and Ex Vivo Validation Study

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