Ultrasound Image Compounding Across Transmit and Receive Angles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional spatial compounded ultrasound imaging technologies process data from different angles separately, rather than jointly, affecting the compounding effect and image quality.
Innovation Solution
Perform coherent and non-coherent compounding on beamformed data from multiple transmission and receiving angles to generate compounded ultrasound images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If conventional spatial compounded imaging technology separately processes data from different angles, then the processing complexity is reduced, but the spatial compounding effect deteriorates and image quality decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the processing of ultrasound data from multiple transmission angles into a unified coherent compounding process. By combining data from different angles through coherent compounding that preserves phase information, the system achieves superior spatial compounding effects while maintaining manageable processing complexity through integrated algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension of phase information processing in the compounding process. By utilizing both amplitude and phase dimensions of the ultrasound data, the system enhances the spatial compounding effect beyond conventional methods that only process amplitude information separately for each angle.
2Power
If conventional spatial compounded imaging technology separately processes data from different angles, then the computational load is reduced, but speckle noise reduction capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines ultrasound data from multiple transmission angles through coherent compounding, merging the information in a way that preserves phase relationships. This unified processing approach effectively reduces speckle noise by distributing and averaging the random phase components across multiple angles, achieving superior noise reduction compared to separate processing methods.
3Loss of time
If conventional spatial compounded imaging technology separately processes data from different angles, then the processing time is reduced, but edge visibility and image quality deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges data from multiple transmission angles through coherent compounding, combining the edge information from different angles constructively. This approach enhances edge visibility by reinforcing the coherent edge signals while suppressing incoherent noise, achieving superior image quality without excessive processing time through efficient algorithms.
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
Improves image quality by reducing speckle noise and enhancing tissue edge visibility through combined amplitude and phase information processing.
Implementation Method 1
Ultrasound imaging refers to the use of an ultrasound probe to transmit an ultrasound wave to a subject under examination or diagnosis, and then generate an ultrasound image based on an echo signal of the ultrasound wave
Implementation Method 2
By controlling different transmission delays based on information such as a depth and size of a region of interest, different transmission beam shapes can be formed, including focused waves, plane waves, and scattered waves based on a focal depth
Implementation Method 3
each coherent compounding includes performing coherent compounding on beamformed data corresponding to a same receiving angle and different transmission angles to obtain a set of coherently compounded data corresponding to the same receiving angle
Implementation Method 4
each non-coherent compounding includes performing non-coherent compounding on at least two sets of coherently compounded data
Data Source
AI summary
An ultrasound imaging method includes: transmitting ultrasound waves to a target tissue at at least two different transmission angles; obtaining an ultrasound echo signal corresponding to each transmission angle; for the ultrasound echo signal corresponding to each transmission angle, performing beamforming at at least two different receiving angles to obtain beamformed data; based on each transmission angle and the receiving angles corresponding to the beamformed data, performing at least one coherent compounding and at least one non-coherent compounding on the beamformed data to obtain compounded data, where each coherent compounding includes performing coherent compounding on beamformed data corresponding to a same receiving angle and different transmission angles to obtain a set of coherently compounded data corresponding to the same receiving angle, and each non-coherent compounding includes performing non-coherent compounding on at least two sets of coherently compounded data; and generating an ultrasound image based on the compounded data.