Method for faster ultrasound imaging

描述(申请人提供)：超声成像是一种低成本、安全和可移动的成像方式，这在一定程度上解释了它在临床放射学中的广泛应用。虽然2D解剖超声成像看起来非常快，生成图像的速度与眼睛能看到的图像一样快，但对于更精细的扫描，帧速率可能会严重下降。在肝脏病变的切除和/或消融过程中，实时显示肿瘤(S)与3D血管系统的关系将是非常理想的，这将增加切除/消融所有肿瘤组织的几率，同时保留重要的血管。但获取大量3D信息通常会将帧速率降低到图像制导无法接受的水平。我们提出了一种空间和时间编码方案的组合，能够将超声图像的采集速率加快数倍，从而允许以高帧速率获得精细的超声图像。使用多个重叠波束一次在多个方向上探测感兴趣的解剖结构，与一次在一个方向上探测对象的传统采集相比，成像时间减少了数倍。基于从所有重叠波束接收的原始信号，可以使用我们提出的空间和时间算法在重建阶段恢复来自单个波束的信号。模拟和实验声学模体获得了初步结果，成像速度提高了32倍。 公共卫生相关性：超声成像是一种特别广泛的医学成像方式，部分原因是它的安全性和低成本。由于它的速度很快，产生图像的速度与人眼所能看到的速度一样快，所以超声波成像经常被用来指导肝脏切除和肿瘤消融等手术。更精细的超声图像，在血管床上可以看到肿瘤(S)的3D图像，这将有助于安全地切除所有病变并保留重要血管，但会导致不可接受的低帧速率。本项目提出了一种将超声成像中的图像采集过程加速数倍的方法，使3D和血管信息能够以高帧速率获得。获得了初步结果，成像速度提高了32倍。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Ultrasound imaging is a low-cost, safe and mobile imaging modality, which explains in part its widespread use in clinical Radiology. Although 2D anatomical ultrasound imaging appears very fast, generating images as fast as the eye can see them, frame rates can be severely degraded for more elaborate scans. During the resection and/or ablation of liver lesions, visualizing the tumor(s) in relation to the 3D vasculature in real- time would be highly desirable, increasing the odds of removing/ablating all tumor tissues while sparing important vessels. But the acquisition of large amounts of 3D information would normally degrade frame rates to levels unacceptable for image guidance. We propose a combination of spatial and temporal encoding schemes capable of accelerating by several-fold the acquisition rate of ultrasound images, allowing elaborate ultrasound images to be obtained at high frame rates. The anatomy of interest is probed in multiple directions at a time using multiple superposed beams, reducing imaging time by several-fold compared to conventional acquisitions where the object is probed in a single direction at a time. Based on the raw signal received from all overlapped beams, signals from individual beams can be recovered at the reconstruction stage using our proposed spatial and temporal algorithms. Preliminary results from simulated and experimental acoustic phantoms were obtained where imaging speed was increased by up to 32-fold. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Ultrasound imaging is a particularly widespread medical imaging modality, due in part to its safety and low cost. Because it is fast, generating images as fast as the human eye can see them, ultrasound imaging is often used to guide procedures, such as liver resections and tumor ablations. More elaborate ultrasound images, where tumor(s) could be seen in 3D in conjunction to the vascular bed, would be helpful toward safely removing all lesions and preserving important vessels but would lead to unacceptably low frame rates. The present project proposes an approach to speed-up by several-fold the image acquisition process in ultrasound imaging, enabling 3D and vascular information to be obtained with high frame rates. Preliminary results were obtained where imaging speed was increased by up to 32-fold.