Acoustic Imaging Coherent Compounding Intercostal Obstructions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Acoustic imaging systems face challenges in maintaining image quality due to obstructions, such as ribs, which block parts of the aperture, leading to reduced resolution and grating lobes, especially in medical ultrasound imaging through the chest.
Innovation Solution
The method involves exploiting redundancy in transmit/receive pair paths among acoustic transducers to compensate for missing data by determining an inverse filter that produces an ideal angular spectrum, weighting signals accordingly, and combining image data from multiple apodization functions to generate an image as if no obstructions were present.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a larger aperture is used to improve resolution, then image resolution is improved, but obstructions such as ribs block part of the aperture causing grating lobes and reduced image quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the aperture into multiple sub-apertures separated by intercostal spaces, treating each as an independent imaging unit. By segmenting the blocked aperture into usable portions and applying separate beamforming to each sub-aperture, the system recovers image quality without requiring the full continuous aperture, thus avoiding grating lobes while maintaining resolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing step involving inverse filtering and angular spectrum manipulation. This intermediary mathematical operation compensates for the missing aperture portions by reconstructing the ideal angular spectrum from the available sub-aperture data, effectively mediating between the blocked physical aperture and the desired full-aperture image quality.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a smaller aperture is used to fit between ribs, then grating lobes are avoided, but field of view and resolution are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple images or data sets obtained from separate sub-apertures through coherent compounding. By combining the information from multiple intercostal space apertures with appropriate phase alignment and weighting, the system reconstructs an image with the field of view and resolution equivalent to a full aperture, while avoiding grating lobes by excluding the blocked regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from spatial domain imaging to the angular spectrum domain for processing. By transforming the aperture data into the angular frequency domain, applying inverse filtering, and then transforming back, the system recovers information that would otherwise be lost due to the limited physical aperture, effectively adding a computational dimension to overcome physical constraints.
3Measurement precision
If coherent compounding is used to combine data from multiple apertures, then image quality is improved, but complex signal processing is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes in the form of inverse filtering in the angular spectrum domain. By transforming the data, applying a simple multiplicative inverse filter that compensates for the aperture blockage, and then inverse transforming, the system achieves coherent compounding with a computationally efficient operation rather than complex iterative optimization, reducing processing complexity while maintaining image quality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively restores the resolution of the full aperture and reduces grating lobes, improving image quality by compensating for gaps and blockages, particularly in transthoracic ultrasound imaging.
Implementation Method 1
employing an acoustic transducer array to produce image data for an imaging region
Implementation Method 2
determining an inverse filter for the acoustic transducer array, wherein when the inverse filter is multiplied by an angular spectrum for the acoustic transducer array with respect to the imaging region in the presence of the one or more obstructions, it produces an ideal angular spectrum
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus and method of imaging an imaging region (7) employ an acoustic transducer array (10') to produce image data for the imaging region (7), wherein there are one or more obstructions (15-1, 15-2, 15-3) between the acoustic transducer array (10') and at least a portion (5) of the imaging region (7). One or more processors exploit redundancy in transmit/receive pair paths among the acoustic transducers in the acoustic transducer array (10') to compensate for missing image data of the imaging region (7) due to the one or more obstructions (15-1, 15-2, 15-3), and produce an image of the imaging region (7) from the compensated image data.