Multi-Frequency Ultrasound Imaging for Resolution and Penetration Balance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ultrasound imaging technologies face challenges in balancing spatial resolution, penetration capability, and temporal resolution, as higher frequencies improve spatial resolution but reduce penetration, while lower frequencies enhance penetration but degrade spatial resolution, necessitating a compromise that often sacrifices real-time imaging.
Innovation Solution
The method involves transmitting ultrasound waves at multiple angles with varying frequencies, performing beamforming at different receiving angles, and combining coherent and non-coherent compounding of beamformed data to generate an ultrasound image, ensuring spatial resolution, penetration capability, and temporal resolution without reducing frame rate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a higher frequency ultrasound wave is used, then spatial resolution is improved, but penetration capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The ultrasound imaging process is segmented into multiple transmission angles, with different frequency bands assigned to different angle ranges. High frequencies are used for certain angles while low frequencies are used for other angles, allowing the system to capture both high-resolution and deep-penetration data separately, then combine them through compounding techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
Different frequency characteristics are applied locally to different transmission angles. Each angle-specific ultrasound wave is optimized with appropriate frequency selection based on the imaging requirements for that particular angular sector, enabling localized optimization of both resolution and penetration.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a lower frequency ultrasound wave is used, then penetration capability is improved, but spatial resolution deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The frequency spectrum is segmented and assigned to different transmission angles. Low frequency waves are transmitted at specific angles where deep penetration is required, while other angles use higher frequencies for better resolution, and the results are combined through compounding.
Solution Approach 2:
Low frequency characteristics are applied locally to specific transmission angles where penetration is the primary concern, rather than using a uniform low frequency across all angles. This allows penetration optimization in specific regions while maintaining resolution in others.
3Measurement precision
If multiple frequencies are used to balance spatial resolution and penetration capability, then temporal resolution deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses periodic transmission of ultrasound waves at different angles and frequencies in a structured sequence. By organizing the multi-frequency, multi-angle transmissions into efficient periodic cycles, the system minimizes total acquisition time while gathering sufficient data for high-quality compounding.
Solution Approach 2:
The ultrasound imaging process maintains continuous useful action by overlapping transmission angles and frequencies in a way that maximizes data acquisition efficiency. The compounding process continuously integrates data from multiple angles and frequencies without requiring complete separation of acquisition phases, reducing overall imaging time.
Data Source
AI summary
An ultrasound imaging method includes: transmitting ultrasound waves to a target tissue at least three different transmission angles, where the ultrasound waves at least two transmission angles have different transmitting frequencies, and the ultrasound waves at least two transmission angles have the same transmitting frequency; for an ultrasound echo signal corresponding to each transmission angle, performing beamforming at least two different receiving angles; performing at least one coherent compounding and at least one non-coherent compounding on beamformed data to obtain compounded data, where each coherent compounding includes performing coherent compounding on beamformed data corresponding to the same receiving angle, the same transmitting frequency, and different transmission angles; and the non-coherent compounding includes performing non-coherent compounding on at least one set of coherently compounded data and beamformed data not subjected to the coherent compounding; and generating an ultrasound image based on the compounded data.