Blood Flow Imaging With Local Blooming Artifact Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing techniques for reducing blooming artifacts in blood flow images, such as those caused by reflections from blood vessel walls, are inadequate as they fail to account for varying power, velocity, and velocity dispersion across different regions within a single frame, leading to residual artifacts.
Innovation Solution
A blood flow image forming device that utilizes a discrimination index map generation unit to differentiate between blood flow, background, and blooming regions based on power, velocity, and velocity dispersion distributions, allowing for accurate discrimination and reduction of blooming artifacts through a normalization process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a uniform power or velocity dispersion threshold is applied to the entire frame to reduce blooming artifacts, then some artifact reduction is achieved, but residual artifacts remain because the threshold does not account for varying power, velocity, and velocity dispersion across different regions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by dividing the image frame into multiple regions of interest and calculating separate power, velocity, and velocity dispersion statistics for each region. This allows the threshold to adapt to local characteristics rather than using a uniform threshold across the entire frame, thereby improving both artifact reduction effectiveness and blood flow discrimination accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the image frame into multiple regions of interest and processes each region independently. By calculating region-specific statistics and thresholds, the method achieves more precise discrimination of blood flow regions while effectively reducing blooming artifacts in each local area.
2Measurement precision
If ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received multiple times to obtain Doppler signals for blood flow detection, then blood flow velocity and power information is obtained, but blooming artifacts are generated due to reflections from blood vessel walls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter approach by calculating power, velocity, and velocity dispersion statistics for each region of interest and using these parameters to determine region-specific thresholds. This allows differentiation between true blood flow signals and blooming artifacts based on their distinct statistical characteristics in different regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs feedback by using the calculated power, velocity, and velocity dispersion statistics to dynamically determine thresholds for each region. This feedback mechanism allows the system to adapt to local signal characteristics and effectively distinguish blood flow from artifacts.
3Measurement precision
If a discrimination index map is generated based on power, velocity, and velocity dispersion distributions for each region of interest, then accurate blood flow region discrimination is achieved, but the processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the processing into discrete steps: dividing the frame into regions, calculating statistics for each region, determining thresholds, and generating the discrimination index map. This segmented approach manages complexity by breaking down the sophisticated discrimination process into manageable, systematic steps.
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
The device effectively reduces blooming artifacts by accurately distinguishing between blood flow and other regions, enhancing the clarity of blood flow images by minimizing false representations.
Implementation Method 1
The Doppler image is formed based on the Doppler effect. Specifically, first, an ultrasound probe transmits and receives ultrasonic waves (transmits and receives packets) multiple times to and from a blood flow region to obtain received signals.
Implementation Method 2
The received signals include Doppler shift signals other than Doppler shift signals from a blood flow, such as those due to tissue motion or reflection, refraction, scattering, or attenuation of an ultrasonic beam by a tissue structure
Data Source
AI summary
The array of reception beam data sets obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a subject constitutes a two-dimensional data space. Based on the Doppler signals, a distribution data calculation unit calculates, for each of data elements in the two-dimensional data space, at least one of power of the Doppler signal, the velocity of tissue in the subject, and the velocity dispersion of tissue in the subject. A discrimination index map generation unit generates a discrimination index map indicating the likelihood of being a blood flow region A in the two-dimensional data space composed of the array of reception beam data sets, based on distribution data that are set for each of regions of interest in the two-dimensional data space. Based on the Doppler signal and the discrimination index map, a blood flow image forming unit forms a blood flow image with reduced blooming artifacts.