Ultrasound clutter filtering with iterative high pass filter selection
First Claim
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1. An ultrasound clutter filter system, comprising:
- a processor configured to iteratively select an optimal high pass filter for progressive, ordered filtering of clutter from ultrasound color flow imaging data wherein a determination of whether a high pass filter is optimal is made by comparing an index to a threshold for that index, the index being computed using a mathematical formula including a mean frequency and a magnitude of a filtered signal, wherein a high pass filter input for each iterative selection is the original ultrasound color flow imaging data.
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Abstract
A system and method for ultrasound clutter filtering is provided. A processor is configured to iteratively select an optimal high pass filter for the progressive, ordered filtering of clutter from ultrasound color flow imaging data. The high pass filter input for each iterative selection and ordered set of high pass filters is the same original ultrasound color flow imaging data. The high pass filters have different cutoff frequencies whereby each high pass filter can be implemented using different structures. The system and method allow for filtering of clutter from ultrasound color flow imaging data until the clutter is substantially removed.
90 Citations
36 Claims
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1. An ultrasound clutter filter system, comprising:
a processor configured to iteratively select an optimal high pass filter for progressive, ordered filtering of clutter from ultrasound color flow imaging data wherein a determination of whether a high pass filter is optimal is made by comparing an index to a threshold for that index, the index being computed using a mathematical formula including a mean frequency and a magnitude of a filtered signal, wherein a high pass filter input for each iterative selection is the original ultrasound color flow imaging data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An ultrasound clutter filter system, comprising:
a processor configured to iteratively select an optimal high pass filter for progressive, ordered filtering of clutter from ultrasound color flow imaging data wherein a criterion for selecting the optimal high pass filter is if a mean frequency of filtered signal data is less than a clutter frequency threshold wherein if the mean frequency is less than the clutter frequency threshold is determined by whether an absolute value of an imaginary part of a first order autocorrelation of the filtered signal data is less than a constant times a real part of the autocorrelation, where the constant is determined by the clutter frequency threshold, wherein a high pass filter input for each iterative selection is the original ultrasound color flow imaging data. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An ultrasound clutter filtering method, comprising:
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iteratively selecting an optimal high pass filter for progressive, ordered filtering wherein the iteratively selecting comprises computing an index using a mathematical formula including a mean frequency and a magnitude of a filtered signal and determining whether a filter is optimal by comparing the index to a threshold, wherein a high pass filter input for each iterative selection is original ultrasound color flow data; and filtering clutter from the ultrasound color flow data until the clutter is substantially removed. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An ultrasound clutter filtering method, comprising:
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iteratively selecting an optimal high pass filter for progressive, ordered filtering of ultrasound color flow data wherein the iteratively selecting comprises determining if a magnitude of a color flow signal in a preselected frequency range is less than a color flow signal threshold, wherein the determining includes determining whether an absolute value of an imaginary part of a first order autocorrelation of the color flow data is less than a constant times a real part of the autocorrelation, where the constant is determined by a frequency threshold, wherein a high pass filter input for each iterative selection is the original ultrasound color flow data, and; filtering clutter from the ultrasound color flow data until the clutter is substantially removed. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification