Spatial Response Identification Enables Robust Experimental Ultrasound Computed Tomography

Cueto, Carlos; Guasch, Lluís; Cudeiro, Javier; Agudo, Òscar Calderón; Robins, Thomas; Bates, Oscar; Strong, George; Tang, Meng-Xing

doi:10.1109/tuffc.2021.3104342

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…However, there was a ringing artifact in the image, where concentric rings overlapped the reconstructed model both in water and inside the brain. This artifact can be explained by poor modelling of the transducers' impulse response, combined with the sparsity of the array (Cueto et al 2020(Cueto et al , 2022. Rotating the array mitigated the sparse distribution of transducers and helped reconstruct a better model; but the side bands of the sensitivity kernels (local gradients) interfered constructively and left an imprint in the form of rings.…”

Section: Laboratory Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of these challenges can be addressed to improve the reliability of synthetic modelling and to obtain better laboratory results. Our next step will be to implement a recently developed technique to model transducer behavior called spatial response identification (SRI) (Cueto et al 2020(Cueto et al , 2022. This calibration procedure can accurately predict the behavior of a multielement array with large transducers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Design and Construction of a Low-Frequency Ultrasound Acquisition Device for 2-D Brain Imaging Using Full-Waveform Inversion

Cudeiro-Blanco¹,

Cueto²,

Bates³

et al. 2022

Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology

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Section: Laboratory Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Construction of a Low-Frequency Ultrasound Acquisition Device for 2-D Brain Imaging Using Full-Waveform Inversion

Cudeiro-Blanco¹,

Cueto²,

Bates³

et al. 2022

Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology

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“…The bandwidth and signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) of the open-UST transducers should provide useful data at frequencies above 350 kHz [2], to be compatible with full waveform inversion (FWI) reconstruction methods. The finite bandwidth and size of physical transducer elements affect the way that they emit and respond to ultrasound waves, and modelling their angle dependent frequency response (ADR) during image reconstruction can help to better match simulated and observed data, leading to increased reconstruction accuracy [13]. The open-UST transducers should have a smooth ADR, since this makes the UST data easier to interpret, and allows the response to be easily incorporated into the reconstruction forward model, for example by representing the transducers as ideal pistons with an effective element size chosen to best represent the watershot data.…”

Section: Design Parameters and Nominal Acoustic Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

open-UST: An Open-Source Ultrasound Tomography Transducer Array System

Roberts¹,

Martin²,

Brown³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Fast imaging methods are needed to promote widespread clinical adoption of Ultrasound Tomography (UST), and more widely available UST hardware could support the experimental validation of new measurement configurations. In this work, an open-source 256-element transducer ring array was developed (morganjroberts.github.io/open-UST) and manufactured using rapid prototyping, for only £2k. Novel manufacturing techniques were used, resulting in a 1.17 • mean beam axis skew angle, a 104 µm mean element position error, and a ±13.6 µm deviation in matching layer thickness. The nominal acoustic performance was measured using hydrophone scans and watershot data, and the 61.2 dB SNR, 55.4 • opening angle, 16.3 mm beamwidth and 54% transmit-receive bandwidth (-12 dB), were found to be similar to existing systems, and compatible with full waveform inversion reconstruction methods. The inter-element variation in acoustic performance was typically <10% without using normalisation, meaning that the elements can be modelled identically during image reconstruction, removing the need for individual source definitions based on hydrophone measurements. Finally, data from a phantom experiment was successfully reconstructed. These results demonstrate that the open-UST system is accessible for users, and suitable for UST imaging research.

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“…Recently, a variety of three-dimensional (3D) USCT measurement configurations have been proposed [3], [10], [21]- [30]. For example, a 3D USCT system utilizing a hemispherical array of transducers was developed by Ruiter et al [26], [27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A few examples that employ this configuration include the SoftVue system (Delphinus Medical Technologies, Inc, Novi, MI, USA), approved by the Food and Drug Administration for screening of women with dense breast tissue and diagnostic use for all women [34], the UltraLucid system developed by Song et al [25] and a brain imaging system developed by Guasch et al [3], [29], [30]. The ring-array system enables acquisition of ultrasound measurements at multiple vertical positions by translating the ring of transducers vertically.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of an elevation-focused transducer model for three-dimensional full-waveform inversion in ultrasound computed tomography

Li¹,

Villa²,

Duric³

et al. 2022

Medical Imaging 2022: Ultrasonic Imaging and Tomography

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Ultrasound computed tomography (USCT) is an emerging medical imaging modality that holds great promise for improving human health. Full-waveform inversion (FWI)-based image reconstruction methods account for the relevant wave physics to produce high spatial resolution images of the acoustic properties of the breast tissues. A practical USCT design employs a circular ring-array comprised of elevation-focused ultrasonic transducers, and volumentric imaging is achieved by translating the ring-array orthogonally to the imaging plane. In commonly deployed slice-by-slice (SBS) reconstruction approaches, the three-dimensional (3D) volume is reconstructed by stacking together two-dimensional (2D) images reconstructed for each position of the ring-array. A limitation of the SBS reconstruction approach is that it does not account for 3D wave propagation physics and the focusing properties of the transducers, which can result in significant image artifacts and inaccuracies. To perform 3D image reconstruction when elevation-focused transducers are employed, a numerical description of the focusing properties of the transducers should be included in the forward model. To address this, a 3D computational model of an elevation-focused transducer is developed to enable 3D FWI-based reconstruction methods to be deployed in ring-array-based USCT. The focusing is achieved by applying a spatially varying temporal delay to the ultrasound pulse (emitter mode) and recorded signal (receiver mode). The proposed numerical transducer model is quantitatively validated and employed in computer-simulation studies that demonstrate its use in image reconstruction for ringarray USCT.

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Spatial Response Identification Enables Robust Experimental Ultrasound Computed Tomography

Cited by 11 publications

References 21 publications

Design and Construction of a Low-Frequency Ultrasound Acquisition Device for 2-D Brain Imaging Using Full-Waveform Inversion

Design and Construction of a Low-Frequency Ultrasound Acquisition Device for 2-D Brain Imaging Using Full-Waveform Inversion

open-UST: An Open-Source Ultrasound Tomography Transducer Array System

Investigation of an elevation-focused transducer model for three-dimensional full-waveform inversion in ultrasound computed tomography

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