Blood noise reduction in intravascular ultrasound imaging

Scattering from red blood cells (blood noise) increases significantly as the ultrasound frequency is increased above 10 MHz. This reduces the contrast between the vessel wall and the lumen in intravascular ultrasound imaging which makes it difficult to localize the vessel wall and plaque. A blood noise filter based on beam tilting and digital lateral low pass filtering is described. Beam tilting introduces a Doppler shift from blood which results in a frequency separation of the vessel wall signal and the blood noise. The performance of the filter is investigated by simulations and by in vitro experiments. The filter is found to be effective for blood velocities exceeding approximately 50 cm s^-1 at a 20 MHz ultrasound frequency with a beam tilt angle of 10 degrees and a frame rate of 15 f.p.s. By increasing the system frequency to 40 MHz, increase the beam tilt angle to 15 degrees and reduce the frame rate to 10 f.p.s., the filter is effective for blood velocities below 10 cm s^-1     

Analysis of correlation coefficient filtering in elasticity imaging

Correlation-based speckle tracking methods are commonly used in elasticity imaging to estimate displacements. In the presence of local strain, a larger window size results in larger displacement error. To reduce tracking error, we proposed a short correlation window followed by a correlation coefficient filter. Although simulation and experimental results demonstrated the efficacy of the method, it was not clear why correlation coefficient filtering reduces tracking error since tracking error increases if normalization before filtering is not applied. In this paper, we analyzed tracking errors by estimating phase variances of the cross-correlation function and the correlation coefficient at the true time lag based on statistical properties of these functions' real and imaginary parts. The role of normalization is clarified by identifying the effect of the cross-correlation function's amplitude fluctuation on the function's imaginary part. Furthermore, we present analytic forms for predicting axial displacement error as a function of strain, system parameters (signal-to-noise ratio, center frequency, and signal and noise bandwidths), and tracking parameters (window and filter sizes) for cases with and without normalization before filtering. Simulation results correspond to theory well for both noise-free cases and general cases with an empirical correction term included for strains up to 4%.     

人体微小管状血管血液流速自动测量方法研究

提出了一种基于视频图像序列的人体微小管状血管血液流速自动测量方法.在提取血管中心线时采用基于图像帧序列方差的种子点自动选取方法,设计了基于Hessian矩阵的血管中心线提取的迭代算法;提取血管中心线后,根据连续帧图像的中心线灰度统计曲线,计算出血液流速.结果表明:该方法测量速度快、精度高,与专家测量结果之间的相关系数为0.901 4.     

Poisson noise reduction from X-ray images by region classification and response median filtering

Medical imaging is perturbed with inherent noise such as speckle noise in ultrasound, Poisson noise in X-ray and Rician noise in MRI imaging. This paper focuses on X-ray image denoising problem. X-ray image quality could be improved by increasing dose value; however, this may result in cell death or similar kinds of issues. Therefore, image processing techniques are developed to minimise noise instead of increasing dose value for patient safety. In this paper, usage of modified Harris corner point detector to predict noisy pixels and responsive median filtering in spatial domain is proposed. Experimentation proved that the proposed work performs better than simple median filter and moving average (MA) filter. The results are very close to non-local means Poisson noise filter which is one of the current state-of-the-art methods. Benefits of the proposed work are simple noise prediction mechanism, good visual quality and less execution time.     

结合横向振荡和空间正交的向量血流速度测量

传统的彩色多普勒成像只能测量与超声波束平行的血流速度分量,且依赖于超声波束与血管之间的夹角。超声向量血流成像是一种更加先进的血流成像技术,该方法可以直接获得血流速度的实际大小和方向,因此不依赖于超声波束与血管之间的夹角。本文从向量血流测量方法之一的横向声场法入手,简要概括了横向振荡(Transverse Oscillation, TO)法和空间正交(Spatial Quadrature, SQ)法两种方法的基本原理、成像过程及各自的优缺点,并提出了一种互相结合的方法,即奇偶振荡法(Odd Even Oscillation, OEO),该方法利用SQ法快速进行波束合成,利用TO法计算最终的速度矢量,克服了TO法和SQ法各自的缺点,能够有效解决TO法成像计算量大以及SQ法出现混叠和对噪声灵敏度高的问题。     

High frame-rate blood vector velocity imaging using plane waves: simulations and preliminary experiments

Conventional ultrasound methods for acquiring color images of blood velocity are limited by a relatively low frame-rate and are restricted to give velocity estimates along the ultrasound beam direction only. To circumvent these limitations, the method presented in this paper uses 3 techniques: 1) The ultrasound is not focused during the transmissions of the ultrasound signals; 2) A 13-bit Barker code is transmitted simultaneously from each transducer element; and 3) The 2-D vector velocity of the blood is estimated using 2-D cross-correlation. A parameter study was performed using the Field II program, and performance of the method was investigated when a virtual blood vessel was scanned by a linear array transducer. An improved parameter set for the method was identified from the parameter study, and a flow rig measurement was performed using the same improved setup as in the simulations. Finally, the common carotid artery of a healthy male was scanned with a scan sequence that satisfies the limits set by the Food and Drug Administration. Vector velocity images were obtained with a frame-rate of 100 Hz where 40 speckle images are used for each vector velocity image. It was found that the blood flow approximately followed the vessel wall, and that maximum velocity was approximately 1 m/s, which is a normal value for a healthy person. To further evaluate the method, the test person was scanned with magnetic resonance (MR) angiography. The volume flow derived from the MR scanning was compared with that from the ultrasound scanning. A deviation of 9% between the 2 volume flow estimates was found.     

Visualizing the radial and circumferential strain distribution within vessel phantoms using synthetic-aperture ultrasound elastography

Noninvasive elastography (NIVE) produces elastograms that are difficult to interpret because NIVE visualizes strain in the transducer coordinate system. In this paper, we hypothesized that transforming normal and shear strain elastograms to the vessel coordinate system will produce better strain elastograms. To corroborate this hypothesis, we acquired synthetic-aperture (SA) ultrasound data from simulated and physical vessel phantoms. In both studies, SA echo frames were reconstructed from data acquired with a sparse transducer array. The simulation study was performed with homogeneous and heterogenous phantoms, but in the experimental study we used a modified ultrasound scanner to acquire SA data from homogeneous (n = 1) and heterogeneous (n = 3) vessel phantoms. Axial and lateral displacements were estimated by performing two-dimensional cross-correlation analysis on the beamformed RF echo frames. We generated radial and circumferential strain elastograms by transforming normal and shear strain elastograms to the vessel coordinate system. The results revealed: 1) radial and circumferential strain elastograms acquired from simulated data had a relative root mean squared error on the order of 0.1%; 2) experimentally acquired radial and circumferential strain elastograms had elastographic contrast-to-noise ratio (CNRe) between 10 and 40 dB, and elastographic signal-to-noise ratio (SNRe) between 10 and 35 dB, depending on the number of active transmission elements employed during imaging; 3) radial and circumferential strain elastograms produced with fewer than 8 active transmission elements were inferior to those computed with a greater number of active elements; and 4) plaques were evident in the strain elastograms, except in those obtained with the sparsest transducer array. This study demonstrated that a syntheticaperture ultrasound system could visualize radial and circumferential strain noninvasively.     

Attenuation estimation using spectral cross-correlation

Estimation of the local attenuation coefficient in soft tissue is important both for clinical diagnosis and for further analysis of ultrasound B-mode images. However, it is difficult to extract spectral properties in a small region of interest from noisy backscattered ultrasound radio frequency (RF) signals. Diffraction effects due to transducer beam focal properties also have to be corrected for accurate estimation of the attenuation coefficient. In this paper, we propose a new attenuation estimation method using spectral cross-correlation between consecutive power spectra obtained from the backscattered RF signals at different depths. Since the spectral cross-correlation method estimates the spectral shift by comparing the entire power spectra, it is more robust and stable to the spectral noise artifacts in the backscattered RF signals. A diffraction compensation technique using a reference phantom with a known attenuation coefficient value is also presented. Local attenuation coefficient estimates obtained using spectral cross-correlation are within 2.3% of the actual value with small estimation variances, as demonstrated in the simulation results.     

应用血管内超声与X射线造影图像融合的血管三维重建

针对X射线血管造影和血管内超声各自显示血管形态的局限以及互补性问题,提出将两种数据进行融合,准确重建血管的方法。首先从在超声导管回撤路径起点拍摄的两个角度的造影图像对中提取出导管并进行三维重建。然后采用基于snake模型的半自动方法从各帧超声图像中提取出血管壁的内外膜边缘。最后,在Frenet-Serret标架中确定各相邻帧超声图像间的相对方位后,利用非迭代的统计优化方法确定各帧超声图像沿导管轴向的绝对方位,完成两种数据的融合。采用临床数据的实验结果验证了算法的可行性,并分析了可能存在的误差和计算成本。     

Statistical algorithm for nonuniformity correction in focal-plane arrays

A statistical algorithm has been developed to compensate for the fixed-pattern noise associated with spatial nonuniformity and temporal drift in the response of focal-plane array infrared imaging systems. The algorithm uses initial scene data to generate initial estimates of the gain, the offset, and the variance of the additive electronic noise of each detector element. The algorithm then updates these parameters by use of subsequent frames and uses the updated parameters to restore the true image by use of a least-mean-square error finite-impulse-response filter. The algorithm is applied to infrared data, and the restored images compare favorably with those restored by use of a multiple-point calibration technique.     

Statistical algorithm for nonuniformity correction in focal-plane arrays.

A statistical algorithm has been developed to compensate for the fixed-pattern noise associated with spatial nonuniformity and temporal drift in the response of focal-plane array infrared imaging systems. The algorithm uses initial scene data to generate initial estimates of the gain, the offset, and the variance of the additive electronic noise of each detector element. The algorithm then updates these parameters by use of subsequent frames and uses the updated parameters to restore the true image by use of a least-mean-square error finite-impulse-response filter. The algorithm is applied to infrared data, and the restored images compare favorably with those restored by use of a multiple-point calibration technique.     

Complex principal components for robust motion estimation

Bias and variance errors in motion estimation result from electronic noise, decorrelation, aliasing, and inherent algorithm limitations. Unlike most error sources, decorrelation is coherent over time and has the same power spectrum as the signal. Thus, reducing decorrelation is impossible through frequency domain filtering or simple averaging and must be achieved through other methods. In this paper, we present a novel motion estimator, termed the principal component displacement estimator (PCDE), which takes advantage of the signal separation capabilities of principal component analysis (PCA) to reject decorrelation and noise. Furthermore, PCDE only requires the computation of a single principal component, enabling computational speed that is on the same order of magnitude or faster than the commonly used Loupas algorithm. Unlike prior PCA strategies, PCDE uses complex data to generate motion estimates using only a single principal component. The use of complex echo data is critical because it allows for separation of signal components based on motion, which is revealed through phase changes of the complex principal components. PCDE operates on the assumption that the signal component of interest is also the most energetic component in an ensemble of echo data. This assumption holds in most clinical ultrasound environments. However, in environments where electronic noise SNR is less than 0 dB or in blood flow data for which the wall signal dominates the signal from blood flow, the calculation of more than one PC is required to obtain the signal of interest. We simulated synthetic ultrasound data to assess the performance of PCDE over a wide range of imaging conditions and in the presence of decorrelation and additive noise. Under typical ultrasonic elasticity imaging conditions (0.98 signal correlation, 25 dB SNR, 1 sample shift), PCDE decreased estimation bias by more than 10% and standard deviation by more than 30% compared with the Loupas method and normalized cross-correlation with cosine fitting (NC CF). More modest gains were observed relative to spline-based time delay estimation (sTDE). PCDE was also tested on experimental elastography data. Compressions of approximately 1.5% were applied to a CIRS elastography phantom with embedded 10.4-mm-diameter lesions that had moduli contrasts of -9.2, -5.9, and 12.0 dB. The standard deviation of displacement estimates was reduced by at least 67% in homogeneous regions at 35 to 40 mm in depth with respect to estimates produced by Loupas, NC CF, and sTDE. Greater improvements in CNR and displacement standard deviation were observed at larger depths where speckle decorrelation and other noise sources were more significant.     

Enhancement of Signal-to-Noise Ratio of Turbulence Measurements by Cross Correlation

A novel method for the measurement of very low turbulence intensities in fluids, based on a dual heat-transfer transducer and a cross correlator, is described. The minimum measurable turbulence intensity is shown to vary with the square root of the minimum detectable cross-correlation coefficient ?. The effects of finite additive noise correlation and finite lateral separation between the transducer halves are studied. Details are given of an instrument measuring the normalized cross-correlation coefficient between two time-dependent signals in the frequency range 2 Hz-300 kHz with an accuracy of ±0.05? ±0.01. The described correlator is particularly suitable for measurements of quasi-stationary processes. A variation of 10 percent in the level of either input signal results in a correlation error of less than 0.6 percent.     

Spatial correlation coefficient images for ultrasonic detection

In ultrasonics, image formation and detection are generally based on signal amplitude. In this paper, we introduce correlation coefficient images as a signal-amplitude independent approach for image formation. The correlation coefficients are calculated between A-scans digitized at adjacent measurement positions. In these images, defects are revealed as regions of high or low correlation relative to the background correlations associated with noise. Correlation coefficient and C-scan images are shown to demonstrate flat-bottom-hole detection in a stainless steel annular ring and crack detection in an aluminum aircraft structure.     

The combined effect of signal decorrelation and random noise on the variance of time delay estimation

Tissue motion and elasticity imaging techniques commonly use time delay estimation (TDE) for the assessment of tissue displacement. The performance of these techniques is limited because the signals are corrupted by various factors including electronic noise, quantization, and speckle decorrelation. Speckle decorrelation is caused by changes in the coherent interference among scatterers when the tissue moves relative to the ultrasound beam. In time delay estimation, the effect of noise is usually addressed through the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) term. Decorrelation, often a significant source of error in medical ultrasound, is commonly described in terms of the correlation coefficient. A relationship between the correlation coefficient and the SNR was previously derived in the literature, for identical signals corrupted by uncorrelated random noise. In this paper, we derive the relationship between the peak of the correlation coefficient function and the SNR for two jointly stationary signals when a delay is present between the signals. Recently, an expression for the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) has been derived in the literature for partially decorrelated signals in terms of the SNR and the correlation coefficient. Since the applicability of the CRLB is determined not only by the SNR, but also by the correlation coefficient, it is important to unify the expression for the CRLB for partially correlated signals. In this paper, we derive an expression for the CRLB in term of an equivalent SNR converted from the correlation coefficient using an SNR-p relationship, and show this expression to be equivalent to the expression for CRLB. We also corroborate the validity of the SNR-p expression with a simulation. Using this formulation, correlation measurements can be converted to SNR to obtain a composite SNR. The use of this composite SNR in lieu of those in the CRLB expression in the literature allows the extension of the literature results to the solution of the common TDE problems that involve signal decorrelation.     

Infrared image registration and high-resolution reconstructionusing multiple translationally shifted aliased video frames

Forward looking infrared (FLIR) detector arrays generally produce spatially undersampled images because the FLIR arrays cannot be made dense enough to yield a sufficiently high spatial sampling frequency. Multi-frame techniques, such as microscanning, are an effective means of reducing aliasing and increasing resolution in images produced by staring imaging systems. These techniques involve interlacing a set of image frames that have been shifted with respect to each other during acquisition. The FLIR system is mounted on a moving platform, such as an aircraft, and the vibrations associated with the platform are used to generate the shifts. Since a fixed number of image frames is required, and the shifts are random, the acquired frames will not fall on a uniformly spaced grid. Furthermore, some of the acquired frames may have almost similar shifts thus making them unusable for high-resolution image reconstruction. In this paper, we utilize a gradient-based registration algorithm to estimate the shifts between the acquired frames and then use a weighted nearest-neighbor approach for placing the frames onto a uniform grid to form a final high-resolution image. Blurring by the detector and optics of the imaging system limits the increase in image resolution when microscanning is attempted at sub-pixel movements of less than half the detector width. We resolve this difficulty by the application of the Wiener filter, designed using the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the imaging system, to the high-resolution image. Simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed technique. The techniques proposed herein are significantly faster than alternate techniques, and are found to be especially suitable for real-time applications     

Estimation of the correlation amplitude of RF signals in small cutaneous vessels

Time domain correlation technique is a widely used method for blood flow velocity measurement. The time shift between a pair of windowed ultrasonic echoes is estimated by searching the temporal position of the maximum of the interpolated normalized correlation function. Between two consecutive echoes, the acoustical footprint of a group of scatterers, which are transported with the flow, moves and is deformed. This implies a decreasing of the amplitude of the normalized correlation coefficient. In the case of microcirculation (low flow rate, low SNR), the amplitude of the correlation peak can be used to detect the presence of blood flow and to discriminate false and true detections (reliability index). We have numerically evaluated the statistical performances of the cross-correlation algorithm used as a correlation peak amplitude estimator in severe conditions (short correlation window length, low SNR). These theoretical results have been compared with in vitro experimentation on a 100-/spl mu/m-diameter microcirculatory phantom and with in vivo experimentation on a 180-/spl mu/m-diameter vessel of a human leg carrying erysipelas.     

一种结合时间轴滤波的视频消噪新方法

为了提高含噪视频图像的质量,提出了一种二维小波域自适应滤波与时域时间轴滤波相结合的视频图像消噪新方法。首先,对视频序列的各帧在二维小波域中进行自适应滤波,之后在时域中进行时间轴滤波。对于二维小波域滤波算法,提出了一种高效的自适应阈值选取方案;时间轴滤波器则是结合了运动检测和递归平均。实验结果表明,其消噪效果要优于单纯的二维小波域滤波方法。     

Interpolation methods for time-delay estimation using cross-correlation method for blood velocity measurement

The cross-correlation method (CCM) for blood flow velocity measurement using Doppler ultrasound is based on time delay estimation of echoes from pulse-to-pulse. The sampling frequency of the received signal is usually kept as low as possible in order to reduce computational complexity, and the peak in the correlation function is found by interpolating the correlation function. The parabolic-fit interpolation method introduces a bias at low sampling rate to the ultrasound center frequency ratio. In this study, four different methods are suggested to improve the estimation accuracy: (1) Parabolic interpolation with bias-compensation, derived from a theoretical signal model. (2) Parabolic interpolation combined with linear filter interpolation of the correlation function. (3) Parabolic interpolation to the complex correlation function envelope. (4) Matched filter interpolation applied to the correlation function. The new interpolation methods are analyzed both by computer simulated signals and RF-signals recorded from a patient with time delay larger than 1/f(0), where f(0) is the center frequency. The simulation results show that these methods are more accurate than the parabolic-fit method. From the simulation, the worst estimation accuracy is about 1.25% of 1/f(0) for the parabolic-fit interpolation, and it is improved by the above methods to less than 0.5% of 1/f(0) when the sampling rate is 10 MHz, the center frequency is 2.5 MHz and the bandwidth is 1 MHz. This improvement also can be observed in the experimental data. Furthermore, the matched filter interpolation gives the best performance when signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is low. This is verified both by simulation and experimentation.     

互相关 DPIV 技术及其在氧化沟模型中的应用

重点研究二维DPIV技术的速度信息提取方法并进行算法实现。该技术基于灰度图像互相关法,在相邻时刻的序列图像中,灰度分布最相似的子窗口即是最佳匹配,粒子在像平面上的运动位移由两个子窗口中心距离确定。通过对互相关测度的优选既能兼顾粒子匹配成功率也能降低匹配算法的时间开销,通过优化算法的搜索空间极大地减少了互相关运算量。给出了标准图像仿真结果及其在氧化沟模型流速测试中的成功应用。实验结果表明,该算法适合于氧化沟模型流场及类似场合的测速。