一种改进的基于二维自相关的 超声弹性成像方法

超声弹性成像提供组织的硬度信息以区分正常状态和疾病状态.应变图像的质量受到随机噪声的影响,从而降低了病变的可检测性并增加了误诊率.如何有效地抑制噪声,提高应变图像的质量对于诊断是至关重要的.本文提出一种将信号预处理与应变估计及其后处理相结合的超声弹性成像增强方法.将采集的射频(RF)信号经过巴特沃斯滤波来滤除信号中的噪声;通过二维自相关进行组织应变估计;利用统计阈值和中值平滑处理应变估计结果并进一步获得超声弹性图像.为了证明算法的有效性,将本文结果与传统二维自相关方法做对比.实验结果证明,本文方法得到的应变图像信噪比(SNRe)较传统方法提高了0.55 dB,对比度噪声比(CNRe)提高了18.09 dB.因此,该方法可以有效地提高超声弹性成像的质量,有望提高病变组织诊断的正确率.     

激光测振仪校准方法研究进展与述评

激光测振仪广泛应用于国防、精密机械制造、汽车等领域,对其校准技术和方法的研究尤为重要.介绍激光测振仪的工作原理,研究分析现有三种校准方法(机械运动信号校准法、调频电信号校准法、调频光信号校准法)的特点和不足.针对调频电信号校准法提出了直接与标准信号对比的方案,降低了对硬件设备的要求,提高了校准准确度和测量范围;针对调频光信号校准法无法溯源的问题,提出外源调频光信号校准法;因而为激光测振仪校准技术的进一步研究提供了方法借鉴.     

应用CZT成像算法处理非线性调频SAR信号

在雷达领域,非线性调频(NLFM)信号正越来越广泛地被应用．对于综合孔径雷达(SAR),利用NLFM脉冲压缩既可改善脉压系统性能,又可提高系统的安全性和抗干扰性,但是如何应用现有的成像算法处理NLFM SAR信号仍少有研究．本文提出了一种改进的Chirp Z-Transform(CZT)算法．该算法适用于处理NLFM SAR信号．作者从NLFM函数族中选取了一组NLFM信号进行处理,不失普遍性地证明了应用改进的CZT算法处理NLFM信号和线性调频(LFM)信号,可以得到相同的距离单元迁移(RCM)校正效果．     

基于H∞滤波器的多分量线性调频信号参数估计

针对多分量线性调频信号数据长度较短的情况，利用多分量线性调频信号的时空域信息，将其分解成多个单分量线性调频信号。针对未知噪声的情况，利用有限长H∞滤波器的良好瞬时特性和鲁棒特性，对每个单分量线性调频信号的参数进行估计，进而实现多分量线性调频信号参数估计。由于采用H∞平方根估计算法，此方法能够抑制递推计算的发散。计算机仿真表明了此方法的有效性。     

奥氏体厚壁焊缝超声扫描检测成像

采用自行研制的超声换能器和透声楔块,对99mm厚奥氏体焊缝进行了超声扫描成像检测。为消除透声楔块中超声的散射噪声,将检测信号与楔块中的信号进行了相消处理。利用基于匹配追踪和小波分析的信号处理方法,有效消除了焊缝中粗大晶粒造成的材料噪声信号,提高了厚壁焊缝超声检测的信噪比。基于经过信号预处理的超声扫描信号,生成了焊缝的超声扫描图像,并对图像分辨率、缺陷定位精度进行了分析。结果表明:该方法可检测到焊缝试块中2人工横孔,实现了奥氏体厚壁焊缝缺陷的超声检测成像。     

时频分析在线性调频信号相位误差估计中的应用

合成孔径雷达(SAR)使用线性调频(LFM)信号作为发射脉冲,带有相位误差的畸变线性调频信号会严重影响到雷达成像的效果．本文分析了二次相位误差对脉冲压缩信号的影响,并采用时频分析的方法对畸变回波信号进行处理．首先利用短时傅立叶变换得到信号的时频分布,再经过傅立叶插值和最小二乘拟合的方法估计出信号的调频斜率．最后用估计值对畸变信号进行相位补偿,得到了令人满意的仿真结果．     

脉冲激光成像探测系统回波信号仿真

研究激光脉冲回波信号特性并建立其数学模型,是应用回波信号处理技术处理回波,生成目标三维激光仿真图像的基础.首先建立了激光器发射脉冲信号能量在时间和空间上的分布模型,然后依据成像目标的激光图像仿真模板,采用累加激光脚印各采样区发射脉冲信号与对应目标散射面单位冲激响应卷积值的方法,生成了探测器接收回波仿真信号,最后分析了影响回波信号仿真精度的因素.通过对激光脚印采样区个数的合理设置实现了激光脉冲回波波形的精确仿真.     

一种改进的小波域LFM雷达信号参数估计算法

提出了基于重排小波Radon变换的线性调频信号的参数估计法。该方法先将小波尺度图转为时频分布图,为提高聚集性引入了时频重排,再将重排图进行Radon变换以进行参数估计。仿真结果表明,该方法有效提高了时频分布图的聚集性,节省了后续Radon变换的时间,同时也抑制了噪声干扰,辨识效果明显提高。     

编码发射技术在医学高频超声成像中的研究进展

高频超声成像以其高分辨和实时性好等优势成为近年来医学超声成像领域研究的热点。但由于超声的衰减随频率增加呈指数级升高,导致高频超声信号幅值小,图像信噪比低。为了增强高频超声成像的信噪比,近年来编码发射（又称编码激励）技术得到了越来越多的研究和应用。文章对近几年国内外编码发射技术在医学高频超声成像方面的应用和研究进展进行了综述,重点分析了Chirp码、巴克（Barker）码和格雷（Golay）码3种主要编码发射技术在高频超声成像方面应用的优缺点,并综合对比了各种编码发射技术在高频成像方面的应用前景。     

基于谱特征的调相信号抗干扰性研究

抗干扰性是衡量设计质量的一个重要指标,文章以研究典型调相信号的谱特性为基础,以提高信号抗干扰能力为着眼点,结合滑动拟合解调方法,论述了调频调相混合调制信号产生和处理,为相关工程应用及科研工作者提供参考。     

Coded ultrasound for blood flow estimation using subband processing

This paper investigates the use of coded excitation for blood flow estimation in medical ultrasound. Traditional autocorrelation estimators use narrow-band excitation signals to provide sufficient signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) and velocity estimation performance. In this paper, broadband coded signals are used to increase SNR, followed by subband processing. The received broadband signal is filtered using a set of narrow-band filters. Estimating the velocity in each of the bands and averaging the results yields better performance compared with what would be possible when transmitting a narrow-band pulse directly. Also, the spatial resolution of the narrow-band pulse would be too poor for brightness-mode (B-mode) imaging, and additional transmissions would be required to update the B-mode image. For the described approach in the paper, there is no need for additional transmissions, because the excitation signal is broadband and has good spatial resolution after pulse compression. This means that time can be saved by using the same data for B-mode imaging and blood flow estimation. Two different coding schemes are used in this paper, Barker codes and Golay codes. The performance of the codes for velocity estimation is compared with a conventional approach transmitting a narrow-band pulse. The study was carried out using an experimental ultrasound scanner and a commercial linear array 7 MHz transducer. A circulating flow rig was scanned with a beam-to-flow angle of 60 degrees. The flow in the rig was laminar and had a parabolic flow-profile with a peak velocity of 0.09 m/s. The mean relative standard deviation of the velocity estimate using the reference method with an 8-cycle excitation pulse at 7 MHz was 0.544% compared with the peak velocity in the rig. Two Barker codes were tested with a length of 5 and 13 bits, respectively. The corresponding mean relative standard deviations were 0.367% and 0.310%, respectively. For the Golay coded experiment, two 8-bit codes were used, and the mean relative standard deviation was 0.335%.     

压缩感知在医学超声成像中的仿真应用研究

为了解决医学超声成像系统中面临的采样率高,数据量大的问题,提出将压缩感知理论方法用于医学超声成像。首先建立了超声信号在时域的稀疏表达模型,然后利用模拟信息转换器对信号进行稀疏采样,最后使用最优化方法完成回波信号重建,利用合成发射孔径方式完成最终超声成像。为了验证算法的有效性,利用Field II对点目标以及复杂组织目标进行了仿真实验,在均方误差、分辨率、对比度以及成像质量上与常规成像结果对比分析。结果表明,采用1/2奈奎斯特采样频率,以30%原始数据所完成的成像仍然可保证良好的图像质量。采用压缩感知理论可以大幅度降低医学超声系统的采样率及总数据量。     

Use of modulated excitation signals in medical ultrasound. Part III: High frame rate imaging

This paper, the last from a series of three papers on the application of coded excitation signals in medical ultrasound, investigates the possibility of increasing the frame rate in ultrasound imaging by using modulated excitation signals. Linear array-coded imaging and sparse synthetic transmit aperture imaging are considered, and the trade-offs between frame rate, image quality, and SNR are discussed. It is shown that FM codes can be used to increase the frame rate by a factor of two without a degradation in image quality and by a factor of 5, if a slight decrease in image quality can be accepted. The use of synthetic transmit aperture imaging is also considered, and it is here shown that Hadamard spatial encoding in transmit with FM emission signals can be used to increase the frame rate by 12 to 25 times with either a slight or no reduction in signal-to-noise ratio and image quality. By using these techniques a complete ultrasound-phased array image can be created using only two emissions.     

Ultrasound speckle reduction using modified Gabor filters

B-mode ultrasound images are characterized by speckle artifact, which may make the interpretation of images difficult. One widely used method for ultrasound speckle reduction is the split spectrum processing (SSP), but the use of one-dimensional (1-D), narrow-band filters makes the resultant image experience a significant resolution loss. In order to overcome this critical drawback, we propose a novel method for speckle reduction in ultrasound medical imaging, which uses a bank of wideband 2-D directive filters, based on modified Gabor functions. Each filter is applied to the 2-D radio-frequency (RF) data, resulting in a B-mode image filtered in a given direction. The compounding of the filters outputs give rise to a final image in which speckle is reduced and the structure is enhanced. We have denoted this method as directive filtering (DF). Because the proposed filters have effectively the same bandwidth as the original image, it is possible to avoid the resolution loss caused by the use of narrow-band filters, as with SSP. The tests were carried out with both simulated and real clinical data. Using the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to quantify the amount of speckle of the ultrasound images, we have achieved an average SNR enhancement of 2.26 times with simulated data and 1.18 times with real clinical data.     

连续波声呐中的调频信号设计方法及性能分析

相对传统的短时脉冲波主动声呐而言,连续波主动声呐是一种新型体制的声呐设备,允许在扫描周期内发射高占空比的信号,并且在发射信号的同时进行侦听,由此可以对水下目标实现连续照射,消除距离盲区。由于发射和接收机制的不同,连续波主动声呐对发射信号的波形和处理方法也各有差异,一是要考虑到"直达波"抑制问题,二是要在时间带宽积和对目标的照射时间间隔两者之间进行折中。针对上述两个问题,设计了一种在连续波主动声呐中发射的新型脉冲串信号,该类信号由多个相互正交的广义正弦调频信号串组成,以此在频域上消除回波与拷贝信号的相关性;后置处理中对接收回波提供了三种不同的方案,在时间带宽积和照射时间间隔两者之间择优选择最佳检测效果。计算机仿真结果表明:该类信号波形以及相应的处理方法可以有效地抑制直达波干扰并给出目标的速度-距离信息。     

Use of modulated excitation signals in medical ultrasound. Part I: Basic concepts and expected benefits

This paper, the first from a series of three papers on the application of coded excitation signals in medical ultrasound, discusses the basic principles and ultrasound-related problems of pulse compression. The concepts of signal modulation and matched filtering are given, and a simple model of attenuation relates the matched filter response with the ambiguity function, known from radar. Based on this analysis and the properties of the ambiguity function, the selection of coded waveforms suitable for ultrasound imaging is discussed. It is shown that linear frequency modulation (FM) signals have the best and most robust features for ultrasound imaging. Other coded signals such as nonlinear FM and binary complementary Golay codes also have been considered and characterized in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and sensitivity to frequency shifts. Using the simulation program Field II, it is found that in the case of linear FM signals, a SNR improvement of 12 to 18 dB can be expected for large imaging depths in attenuating media, without any depth-dependent filter compensation. In contrast, nonlinear FM modulation and binary codes are shown to give a SNR improvement of only 4 to 9 dB when processed with a matched filter. Other issues, such as depth-dependent matched filtering and use of filters other than the matched filter (inverse and Wiener filters) also are addressed.     

Coded excitation for synthetic aperture ultrasound imaging

Peak acoustic power limits the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of real-time ultrasound images. For most conventional scan formats, however, the average power is well below heating limits. This means the SNR can be significantly increased using coded excitation. A coded system transmits a broadband, temporally elongated excitation pulse with a finite time-bandwidth product. The received signal must be decoded to produce an imaging pulse with improved SNR resulting from the higher average power in the elongated excitation. Decoding can produce significant range side lobes, however, greatly reducing image quality. All practical coding designs, therefore, represent a trade-off between SNR gain and range side lobes. A specific coding scheme appropriate for synthetic aperture imaging is presented. A 14.5 dB SNR improvement with acceptable range side lobes is demonstrated on a forward-looking imaging system appropriate for intravascular applications.     

B超图像的计算机实时成像研究

早在50年代前期，超声就被研究并作为医学上的一种诊断工具。随着超声诊断技术的发展，超声医学诊断成为一门专门的医学诊断技术，并形成一个独立的分支。B超图像是由医学B型超声扫描仪(Ultrasound—B-mode Scanner)采用脉冲回波法对被测物体进行扫描，通过对所得的回波数据重建而形成的一类医学图像，它的主要成像原理是运用超声在人体组织中传播特性(速度、反射率、吸收率等)的不同，将其转化为一定的可显信号，在显示器上反映出来。文章对该类图像在计算机上重建的算法进行了研究，对各种算法分析、比较，最后提出比较合理的适应于计算机上实时重建B超图像的算法。     

Harmonic chirp imaging method for ultrasound contrast agent

Coded excitation is currently used in medical ultrasound to increase signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and penetration depth. We propose a chirp excitation method for contrast agents using the second harmonic component of the response. This method is based on a compression filter that selectively compresses and extracts the second harmonic component from the received echo signal. Simulations have shown a clear increase in response for chirp excitation over pulse excitation with the same peak amplitude. This was confirmed by two-dimensional (2-D) optical observations of bubble response with a fast framing camera. To evaluate the harmonic compression method, we applied it to simulated bubble echoes, to measured propagation harmonics, and to B-mode scans of a flow phantom and compared it to regular pulse excitation imaging. An increase of approximately 10 dB in SNR was found for chirp excitation. The compression method was found to perform well in terms of resolution. Axial resolution was in all cases within 10% of the axial resolution from pulse excitation. Range side-lobe levels were 30 dB below the main lobe for the simulated bubble echoes and measured propagation harmonics. However, side-lobes were visible in the B-mode contrast images.