TY - JOUR
T1 - Temporal artifact minimization in sonoelastography through optimal selection of imaging parameters
AU - Torres, Gabriela
AU - Chau, Gustavo R.
AU - Parker, Kevin J.
AU - Castaneda, Benjamin
AU - Lavarello, Roberto J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Acoustical Society of America.
PY - 2016/7/1
Y1 - 2016/7/1
N2 - Sonoelastography is an ultrasonic technique that uses Kasai's autocorrelation algorithms to generate qualitative images of tissue elasticity using external mechanical vibrations. In the absence of synchronization between the mechanical vibration device and the ultrasound system, the random initial phase and finite ensemble length of the data packets result in temporal artifacts in the sonoelastography frames and, consequently, in degraded image quality. In this work, the analytic derivation of an optimal selection of acquisition parameters (i.e., pulse repetition frequency, vibration frequency, and ensemble length) is developed in order to minimize these artifacts, thereby eliminating the need for complex device synchronization. The proposed rule was verified through experiments with heterogeneous phantoms, where the use of optimally selected parameters increased the average contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) by more than 200% and reduced the CNR standard deviation by 400% when compared to the use of arbitrarily selected imaging parameters. Therefore, the results suggest that the rule for specific selection of acquisition parameters becomes an important tool for producing high quality sonoelastography images.
AB - Sonoelastography is an ultrasonic technique that uses Kasai's autocorrelation algorithms to generate qualitative images of tissue elasticity using external mechanical vibrations. In the absence of synchronization between the mechanical vibration device and the ultrasound system, the random initial phase and finite ensemble length of the data packets result in temporal artifacts in the sonoelastography frames and, consequently, in degraded image quality. In this work, the analytic derivation of an optimal selection of acquisition parameters (i.e., pulse repetition frequency, vibration frequency, and ensemble length) is developed in order to minimize these artifacts, thereby eliminating the need for complex device synchronization. The proposed rule was verified through experiments with heterogeneous phantoms, where the use of optimally selected parameters increased the average contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) by more than 200% and reduced the CNR standard deviation by 400% when compared to the use of arbitrarily selected imaging parameters. Therefore, the results suggest that the rule for specific selection of acquisition parameters becomes an important tool for producing high quality sonoelastography images.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84979987471&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1121/1.4958997
DO - 10.1121/1.4958997
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84979987471
SN - 0001-4966
VL - 140
SP - 714
EP - 717
JO - Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
JF - Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
IS - 1
ER -