Abstract
We present a new algorithm for deriving a second-order Volterra filter (SVF) capable of separating linear and quadratic components from echo signals. Images based on the quadratic components are shown to provide contrast enhancement between tissue and ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) without loss in spatial resolution. It is also shown that the quadratic images preserve the low scattering regions due to their high dynamic range when compared with standard B-mode or harmonic images. A robust algorithm for deriving the filter has been developed and tested on real-time imaging data from contrast and tissue-mimicking media. Illustrative examples from image targets containing contrast agent and tissue-mimicking media are presented and discussed. Quantitative assessment of the contrast enhancement is performed on both the RF data and the envelope-detected log-compressed image data. It is shown that the quadratic images offer levels of enhancement comparable or exceeding those from harmonic filters while maintaining the visibility of low scattering regions of the image.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 987-1001 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 2003 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Manuscript received October 23, 2002; accepted March 21, 2003. This work is funded in part by a grant from Esaote, S.p.A., Genoa, Italy and by Grant DAMD 17-01-1-330 from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.