Quantitative volume backscatter imaging
First Claim
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1. A method of producing quantitative volume backscatter images from two dimensional B-scan ultrasonic images comprising the steps of:
- transmitting acoustic pulses along many scan lines and producing beams of ultrasound to scan an object, receiving ultrasonic energy and generating received signals that are processed to provide B-scan image data which is displayed;
correcting said B-scan image data to account for propagation effects that can alter backscatter intensity due to propagation from an image point to a transducer, and produce corrected data indicative of the volume backscatter coefficient; and
displaying said corrected data as a gray scale volume backscatter image.
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Abstract
A conventional ultrasonic B-scan image is converted into a volume backscatter image by accounting for four propagation effects: dispersion of transmitted energy, beam width and beam intensity variations, inhomogeneous attenuation of ultrasonic energy, and signals resulting from specular reflections at interfaces. These images are a two-dimensional map of backscatter efficiency, are independent of details of the measurement system, and are quantitative images of an intrinsic property of tissue and other materials.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method of producing quantitative volume backscatter images from two dimensional B-scan ultrasonic images comprising the steps of:
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transmitting acoustic pulses along many scan lines and producing beams of ultrasound to scan an object, receiving ultrasonic energy and generating received signals that are processed to provide B-scan image data which is displayed; correcting said B-scan image data to account for propagation effects that can alter backscatter intensity due to propagation from an image point to a transducer, and produce corrected data indicative of the volume backscatter coefficient; and displaying said corrected data as a gray scale volume backscatter image. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method of producing quantitative volume backscatter images from two dimensional B-scan ultrasonic images comprising the steps of:
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transmitting acoustic pulses along many scan lines and producing beams of ultrasound to scan an object, receiving ultrasonic energy and generating received signals that are processed to provide B-scan image data which is displayed; correcting said B-scan image data to account for certain propagation effects and produce corrected data indicative of the volume backscatter coefficient; wherein said propagation effects accounted for are dispersion of ultrasonic energy, beam width and beam intensity variations, inhomogeneous attenuation of ultransonic energy, and specular reflections at interfaces; and displaying said corrected data as a gray scale volume backscatter image.
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4. A method of producing quantitative volume backscatter images from two dimensional B-scan ultrasonic images comprising the steps of:
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transmitting acoustic pulses along many scan lines and producing beams of ultrasound to scan an object, receiving ultrasonic energy and generating received signals that are processed to provide B-scan image data which is displayed; correcting said B-scan image data to account for certain propagation effects and produce corrected data indicative of the volume backscatter coefficient; wherein one propagation effect is specular reflection from interfaces which is accounted for by obtaining the spatial derivative of every line of data and replacing signals that produce derivatives greater than a predetermined threshold by the average data in the neighborhood of said signals; and displaying said corrected data as a gray scale volume backscatter image.
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5. A method of producing quantitative volume backscatter images from two dimensional B-scan ultrasonic images comprising the steps of:
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transmitting acoustic pulses along many scan lines and producing beams of ultrasound to scan an object, receiving ultrasonic energy and generating received signals that are processed to provide B-scan image data which is displayed on a cathode ray tube device; correcting said B-scan image data, pixel by pixel, for dispersion of ultrasonic energy, for beam width and beam intensity variations, for inhomogeneous attenuation of ultrasonic energy by using adaptive time gain compensation, and for signals resulting from specular reflections at interfaces using a derivative test; and displaying said corrected data as a quantitative volume backscatter image respresenting backscatter efficiency in the plane of the B-scan. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification