Innovative aberration correction in ultrasound diagnostics with direct phase estimation for enhanced image quality

This study proposes a new phase aberration correction method based on the Fourier transform and leveraging of the synthetic aperture mode. The proposed method enables correction after the emission and reception of ultrasonic wave, allowing for the estimation of aberration profiles for different parts of the sonogram. To demonstrate the method ’s performance, this study included the conducting of experiments using a commercially available quality control phantom, anex-vivo temporal human bone, and specially designed distortion layers. At a frequency of 2  MHz, the experiments demonstrated an increase of two-and-three-quarters in echo signal intensity and a decrease of nearly two-fold in the width of the angular distribution compared to the pre-correction state. However, it is important to note that the implementation of the method has a limitation, as it requires an aperture synthesis mode and access to raw RF data, which restricts use in common scanners. To ensure the reproducibility of the results, this paper provides public access to an in-house C +  + code for aberration correction following the proposed method, as well as the dat aset used in this study.
Source: Australasian Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine - Category: Biomedical Engineering Source Type: research