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An J, Sugita N, Shinshi T. Microbubble detection on ultrasound imaging by utilizing phase patterned waves. Phys Med Biol 2024; 69:135003. [PMID: 38843808 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/ad5511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Objective.Super-resolution ultrasonography offers the advantage of visualization of intricate microvasculature, which is crucial for disease diagnosis. Mapping of microvessels is possible by localizing microbubbles (MBs) that act as contrast agents and tracking their location. However, there are limitations such as the low detectability of MBs and the utilization of a diluted concentration of MBs, leading to the extension of the acquisition time. We aim to enhance the detectability of MBs to reduce the acquisition time of acoustic data necessary for mapping the microvessels.Approach.We propose utilizing phase patterned waves (PPWs) characterized by spatially patterned phase distributions in the incident beam to achieve this. In contrast to conventional ultrasound irradiation methods, this irradiation method alters bubble interactions, enhancing the oscillation response of MBs and generating more significant scattered waves from specific MBs. This enhances the detectability of MBs, thereby enabling the detection of MBs that were undetectable by the conventional method. The objective is to maximize the overall detection of bubbles by utilizing ultrasound imaging with additional PPWs, including the conventional method. In this paper, we apply PPWs to ultrasound imaging simulations considering bubble-bubble interactions to elucidate the characteristics of PPWs and demonstrate their efficacy by employing PPWs on MBs fixed in a phantom by the experiment.Main results.By utilizing two types of PPWs in addition to the conventional ultrasound irradiation method, we confirmed the detection of up to 93.3% more MBs compared to those detected using the conventional method alone.Significance.Ultrasound imaging using additional PPWs made it possible to increase the number of detected MBs, which is expected to improve the efficiency of bubble detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junseok An
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8501, Japan
| | - Naohiro Sugita
- Laboratory for Future Interdisciplinary Research of Science and Technology (FIRST), Institute of Innovative Research (IIR), Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8501, Japan
| | - Tadahiko Shinshi
- Laboratory for Future Interdisciplinary Research of Science and Technology (FIRST), Institute of Innovative Research (IIR), Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8501, Japan
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2
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Garcia D, Varray F. SIMUS3: An open-source simulator for 3-D ultrasound imaging. COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE 2024; 250:108169. [PMID: 38643604 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2024.108169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2024] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Computational Ultrasound Imaging (CUI) has become increasingly popular in the medical ultrasound community, facilitated by free simulation software. These tools enable the design and exploration of transmit sequences, transducer arrays, and signal processing. We recently introduced SIMUS, a frequency-based ultrasound simulator within the open-source MUST toolbox, which offers numerical advantages and allows easy consideration of frequency-dependent factors. In response to the growing interest in simulating ultrasound imaging with 2-D matrix arrays, we present 3-D versions, PFIELD3 and SIMUS3. METHOD The linear acoustic equations driving these functions are described, with theoretical assumptions reviewed for user guidance. RESULTS Comparative analyses with Field II, using a 32×32 element 3-MHz matrix array, highlight the performance of PFIELD3 and SIMUS3 under various transmission conditions. CONCLUSIONS This work extends the capabilities of existing CUI tools and provides researchers with valuable resources for advanced ultrasound simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damien Garcia
- CREATIS (Centre de Recherche en Acquisition et Traitement de l'Image pour la Santé), CNRS UMR 5220 - INSERM U1294 - Université Lyon 1 - INSA Lyon - Université Jean Monnet Saint-Étienne, France.
| | - François Varray
- CREATIS (Centre de Recherche en Acquisition et Traitement de l'Image pour la Santé), CNRS UMR 5220 - INSERM U1294 - Université Lyon 1 - INSA Lyon - Université Jean Monnet Saint-Étienne, France
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3
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Kim H, Cho S, Park E, Park S, Oh D, Lee KJ, Kim C. Nonlinear beamforming for intracardiac echocardiography: a comparative study. Biomed Eng Lett 2024; 14:571-582. [PMID: 38645597 PMCID: PMC11026316 DOI: 10.1007/s13534-024-00352-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) enables cardiac imaging with a wide field of view, deep imaging depth, and high frame rate during surgery. However, strong sidelobe and grating lobe artifacts created by the ultra-compact transducer degrade its image quality, making diagnosis and monitoring of treatment difficult. Conventionally, aperture apodization algorithms are often used to suppress sidelobe and grating lobe artifacts at the expense of lateral resolution, which is undesirable in ICE. In this study, we present comparative results of the beamforming methods specifically in ICE application. We demonstrate and compare five nonlinear beamforming algorithms in ICE: nonlinear pth root delay and sum (NL-p-DAS), nonlinear pth root spectral magnitude scaling (NL-p-SMS), delay-and-sum with coherence factors (DAS + SCF), delay and sum with apodization (DAS + apodization) and delay and sum (DAS). Phantom and ex-vivo experiment compare the performance of each algorithm in static and dynamic conditions. DAS + SCF shows the best lateral resolution, and all four algorithms improve the image contrast and sidelobe suppression over conventional DAS. NL-p-SMS stands out for the best axial resolution and suppression of grating lobe artifacts. For motion tracking, NL-p-SMS shows better temporal resolution than other methods. Overall, all the beamforming algorithms other than DAS showed improved image quality. Among them, NL-p-SMS, which has a high temporal resolution, showed the potential for providing more accurate information regards movement tracking. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13534-024-00352-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyunhee Kim
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Convergence IT Engineering, Device Innovation Center, and Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 37673 South Korea
| | - Seonghee Cho
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 37673 South Korea
| | - Eunwoo Park
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Convergence IT Engineering, Device Innovation Center, and Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 37673 South Korea
| | - Sinyoung Park
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 37673 South Korea
| | - Donghyeon Oh
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Convergence IT Engineering, Device Innovation Center, and Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 37673 South Korea
| | - Ki Jong Lee
- Medical Device Innovation Center, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 37673 South Korea
| | - Chulhong Kim
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Convergence IT Engineering, Device Innovation Center, and Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 37673 South Korea
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 37673 South Korea
- Medical Device Innovation Center, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 37673 South Korea
- Mechanical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 37673 South Korea
- Medical Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 37673 South Korea
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4
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Liu J, Liu N, Xu Y, Wu M, Zhang H, Wang Y, Yan Y, Hill A, Song R, Xu Z, Park M, Wu Y, Ciatti JL, Gu J, Luan H, Zhang Y, Yang T, Ahn HY, Li S, Ray WZ, Franz CK, MacEwan MR, Huang Y, Hammill CW, Wang H, Rogers JA. Bioresorbable shape-adaptive structures for ultrasonic monitoring of deep-tissue homeostasis. Science 2024; 383:1096-1103. [PMID: 38452063 DOI: 10.1126/science.adk9880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Monitoring homeostasis is an essential aspect of obtaining pathophysiological insights for treating patients. Accurate, timely assessments of homeostatic dysregulation in deep tissues typically require expensive imaging techniques or invasive biopsies. We introduce a bioresorbable shape-adaptive materials structure that enables real-time monitoring of deep-tissue homeostasis using conventional ultrasound instruments. Collections of small bioresorbable metal disks distributed within thin, pH-responsive hydrogels, deployed by surgical implantation or syringe injection, allow ultrasound-based measurements of spatiotemporal changes in pH for early assessments of anastomotic leaks after gastrointestinal surgeries, and their bioresorption after a recovery period eliminates the need for surgical extraction. Demonstrations in small and large animal models illustrate capabilities in monitoring leakage from the small intestine, the stomach, and the pancreas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqi Liu
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Naijia Liu
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Yameng Xu
- The Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Mingzheng Wu
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Haohui Zhang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Yue Wang
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Ying Yan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Angela Hill
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Ruihao Song
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Zijie Xu
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Minsu Park
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Dankook University, Yongin 16890, Republic of Korea
| | - Yunyun Wu
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Joanna L Ciatti
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Jianyu Gu
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Haiwen Luan
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Yamin Zhang
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Tianyu Yang
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Hak-Young Ahn
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Shupeng Li
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Wilson Z Ray
- Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Colin K Franz
- Regenerative Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- The Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Matthew R MacEwan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Yonggang Huang
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Chet W Hammill
- Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Heling Wang
- Laboratory of Flexible Electronics Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
- Institute of Flexible Electronics Technology of THU Zhejiang, Jiaxing 314000, China
| | - John A Rogers
- Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
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Gao F, Li B, Chen L, Wei X, Shang Z, Liu C. Ultrasound image super-resolution reconstruction based on semi-supervised CycleGAN. ULTRASONICS 2024; 137:107177. [PMID: 37832382 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultras.2023.107177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
In ultrasonic testing, diffraction artifacts generated around defects increase the challenge of quantitatively characterizing defects. In this paper, we propose a label-enhanced semi-supervised CycleGAN network model, referred to as LESS-CycleGAN, which is a conditional cycle generative adversarial network designed for accurately characterizing defect morphology in ultrasonic testing images. The proposed method introduces paired cross-domain image samples during model training to achieve a defect transformation between the ultrasound image domain and the morphology image domain, thereby eliminating artifacts. Furthermore, the method incorporates a novel authenticity loss function to ensure high-precision defect reconstruction capability. To validate the effectiveness and robustness of the model, we use simulated 2D images of defects and corresponding ultrasonic detection images as training and test sets, and an actual ultrasonic phased array image of a test block as the validation set to evaluate the model's application performance. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is convenient and effective, achieving subwavelength-scale defect reconstruction with good robustness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Gao
- State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China; International Joint Laboratory for Micro/Nano Manufacturing and Measurement Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China
| | - Bing Li
- State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China; International Joint Laboratory for Micro/Nano Manufacturing and Measurement Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China
| | - Lei Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China; International Joint Laboratory for Micro/Nano Manufacturing and Measurement Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China.
| | - Xiang Wei
- State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China; International Joint Laboratory for Micro/Nano Manufacturing and Measurement Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China
| | - Zhongyu Shang
- State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China; International Joint Laboratory for Micro/Nano Manufacturing and Measurement Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China
| | - Chunman Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China; International Joint Laboratory for Micro/Nano Manufacturing and Measurement Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China
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Gaits F, Mellado N, Bouyjou G, Garcia D, Basarab A. Efficient Stratified 3-D Scatterer Sampling for Freehand Ultrasound Simulation. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ULTRASONICS, FERROELECTRICS, AND FREQUENCY CONTROL 2024; 71:127-140. [PMID: 37824323 DOI: 10.1109/tuffc.2023.3324014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Ultrasound image simulation is a well-explored field with the main objective of generating realistic synthetic images, further used as ground truth for computational imaging algorithms or for radiologists' training. Several ultrasound simulators are already available, most of them consisting in similar steps: 1) generate a collection of tissue mimicking individual scatterers with random spatial positions and random amplitudes; 2) model the ultrasound probe and the emission and reception schemes; and 3) generate the radio frequency (RF) signals resulting from the interaction between the scatterers and the propagating ultrasound waves. This article is focused on the first step. To ensure fully developed speckle, a few tens of scatterers by resolution cell are needed, demanding to handle high amounts of data (especially in 3-D) and resulting into important computational time. The objective of this work is to explore new scatterer spatial distributions, with application to multiple coherent 2-D slice simulations from 3-D volumes. More precisely, lazy evaluation of pseudorandom schemes proves them to be highly computationally efficient compared with uniform random distribution commonly used. We also propose an end-to-end method from the 3-D tissue volume to resulting ultrasound images using coherent and 3-D-aware scatterer generation and usage in a real-time context.
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Garcia D, Tamraoui M, Varray F. Think twice before f-numbering. ULTRASONICS 2023; 138:107222. [PMID: 38290386 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultras.2023.107222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
In a 2021 paper, we delved into the details of delay-sum beamforming (DAS) in high-frame-rate ultrasound for medical imaging [1]. We also proposed a simple and fast method of determining an f-number, which is based on the directivity of the transducer elements. In their comment, Martin F. Schiffner and Georg Schmitz argue that we mistakenly link image quality enhancement to the reduction of measurement noise. They disapprove our proposed f-number, claiming it deteriorates the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Based on their previous work [2], they also highlight that the f-number should be derived from the grating lobe angles. In this reply, we explain their error in the SNR argument. We also illustrate the potential drawbacks of exclusively relying on grating lobes to establish an f-number with a DAS, suggesting that alternative approaches might be worthy of consideration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damien Garcia
- CREATIS, CNRS UMR 5220, INSERM U1294, Université Lyon 1, INSA Lyon, France.
| | - Mohamed Tamraoui
- CREATIS, CNRS UMR 5220, INSERM U1294, Université Lyon 1, INSA Lyon, France.
| | - François Varray
- CREATIS, CNRS UMR 5220, INSERM U1294, Université Lyon 1, INSA Lyon, France.
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Lu J, Millioz F, Varray F, Poree J, Provost J, Bernard O, Garcia D, Friboulet D. Ultrafast Cardiac Imaging Using Deep Learning for Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ULTRASONICS, FERROELECTRICS, AND FREQUENCY CONTROL 2023; 70:1761-1772. [PMID: 37862280 DOI: 10.1109/tuffc.2023.3326377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
High-quality ultrafast ultrasound imaging is based on coherent compounding from multiple transmissions of plane waves (PW) or diverging waves (DW). However, compounding results in reduced frame rate, as well as destructive interferences from high-velocity tissue motion if motion compensation (MoCo) is not considered. While many studies have recently shown the interest of deep learning for the reconstruction of high-quality static images from PW or DW, its ability to achieve such performance while maintaining the capability of tracking cardiac motion has yet to be assessed. In this article, we addressed such issue by deploying a complex-weighted convolutional neural network (CNN) for image reconstruction and a state-of-the-art speckle-tracking method. The evaluation of this approach was first performed by designing an adapted simulation framework, which provides specific reference data, i.e., high-quality, motion artifact-free cardiac images. The obtained results showed that, while using only three DWs as input, the CNN-based approach yielded an image quality and a motion accuracy equivalent to those obtained by compounding 31 DWs free of motion artifacts. The performance was then further evaluated on nonsimulated, experimental in vitro data, using a spinning disk phantom. This experiment demonstrated that our approach yielded high-quality image reconstruction and motion estimation, under a large range of velocities and outperforms a state-of-the-art MoCo-based approach at high velocities. Our method was finally assessed on in vivo datasets and showed consistent improvement in image quality and motion estimation compared to standard compounding. This demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of deep learning reconstruction for ultrafast speckle-tracking echocardiography.
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Huang H, Li Z, Han C, Wu G, Zhuang Z, Li J, Lin H. Auto-tuning numerical method for acoustic wave simulation using analytical solution. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2023; 2023:1-4. [PMID: 38083535 DOI: 10.1109/embc40787.2023.10341031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
Numerical wavefield simulation such as commercial simulation software enables an optimal design of an ultrasound computed tomography (USCT) system for clinical purpose of before prototyping. Such simulator, not developed for optimal design though, can provide rapid implementation for acoustic wave propagation but may lead to unexpected errors during the establishment of numerical model. Here, we propose an auto-tuning numerical method (ATNM), aiming to optimize physical parameters (e.g. grid size, Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) number, perfectly matched layer (PML) absorption coefficient, etc) such that the enumerated wavefield computed on those converges to the corresponding analytical solution derived from acoustic scattering theory. We use genetic algorithm (GA) to automatically calibrate numerical wavefield. Our preliminary test is to investigate the best design of PML absorption coefficient for USCT to minimize mean relative error (MRE) between the k-Wave simulation and the analytic model and show its efficacy. The experimental results verify our hypothesis that this calibrated numerical simulator on a simple physical domain is generalizable to any other domains.
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Arapi V, Hardt-Stremayr A, Weiss S, Steinbrener J. Bridging the simulation-to-real gap for AI-based needle and target detection in robot-assisted ultrasound-guided interventions. Eur Radiol Exp 2023; 7:30. [PMID: 37332035 DOI: 10.1186/s41747-023-00344-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered, robot-assisted, and ultrasound (US)-guided interventional radiology has the potential to increase the efficacy and cost-efficiency of interventional procedures while improving postsurgical outcomes and reducing the burden for medical personnel. METHODS To overcome the lack of available clinical data needed to train state-of-the-art AI models, we propose a novel approach for generating synthetic ultrasound data from real, clinical preoperative three-dimensional (3D) data of different imaging modalities. With the synthetic data, we trained a deep learning-based detection algorithm for the localization of needle tip and target anatomy in US images. We validated our models on real, in vitro US data. RESULTS The resulting models generalize well to unseen synthetic data and experimental in vitro data making the proposed approach a promising method to create AI-based models for applications of needle and target detection in minimally invasive US-guided procedures. Moreover, we show that by one-time calibration of the US and robot coordinate frames, our tracking algorithm can be used to accurately fine-position the robot in reach of the target based on 2D US images alone. CONCLUSIONS The proposed data generation approach is sufficient to bridge the simulation-to-real gap and has the potential to overcome data paucity challenges in interventional radiology. The proposed AI-based detection algorithm shows very promising results in terms of accuracy and frame rate. RELEVANCE STATEMENT This approach can facilitate the development of next-generation AI algorithms for patient anatomy detection and needle tracking in US and their application to robotics. KEY POINTS • AI-based methods show promise for needle and target detection in US-guided interventions. • Publicly available, annotated datasets for training AI models are limited. • Synthetic, clinical-like US data can be generated from magnetic resonance or computed tomography data. • Models trained with synthetic US data generalize well to real in vitro US data. • Target detection with an AI model can be used for fine positioning of the robot.
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Affiliation(s)
- Visar Arapi
- Control of Networked Systems Research Group, Institute of Smart Systems Technologies, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria.
| | - Alexander Hardt-Stremayr
- Control of Networked Systems Research Group, Institute of Smart Systems Technologies, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria
| | - Stephan Weiss
- Control of Networked Systems Research Group, Institute of Smart Systems Technologies, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria
| | - Jan Steinbrener
- Control of Networked Systems Research Group, Institute of Smart Systems Technologies, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria
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11
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Ekroll IK, Saris AECM, Avdal J. FLUST: A fast, open source framework for ultrasound blood flow simulations. COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE 2023; 238:107604. [PMID: 37220679 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2023.107604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Ultrasound based blood velocity estimation is a continuously developing frontier, where the vast number of possible acquisition setups and velocity estimators makes it challenging to assess which combination is better suited for a given imaging application. FLUST, the Flow-Line based Ultrasound Simulation Tool, may be used to address this challenge, providing a common platform for evaluation of velocity estimation schemes on in silico data. However, the FLUST approach had some limitations in its original form, including reduced robustness for phase sensitive setups and the need for manual selection of integrity parameters. In addition, implementation of the technique and therefore also documentation of signal integrity was left to potential users of the approach. METHODS In this work, several improvements to the FLUST technique are proposed and investigated, and a robust, open source simulation framework developed. The software supports several transducer types and acquisition setups, in addition to a range of different flow phantoms. The main goal of this work is to offer a robust, computationally cheap and user-friendly framework to simulate ultrasound data from stationary blood velocity fields and thereby facilitate design and evaluation of estimation schemes, including acquisition design, velocity estimation and other post-processing steps. RESULTS The technical improvements proposed in this work resulted in reduced interpolation errors, reduced variability in signal power, and also automatic selection of spatial and temporal discretization parameters. Results are presented illustrating the challenges and the effectiveness of the solutions. The integrity of the improved simulation framework is validated in an extensive study, with results indicating that speckle statistics, spatial and temporal correlation and frequency content all correspond well with theoretical predictions. Finally, an illustrative example shows how FLUST may be used throughout the design and optimization process of a velocity estimator. CONCLUSIONS The FLUST framework is available as a part of the UltraSound ToolBox (USTB), and the results in this paper demonstrate that it can be used as an efficient and reliable tool for the development and validation of ultrasound-based velocity estimation schemes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ingvild Kinn Ekroll
- CIUS and the Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway.
| | - Anne E C M Saris
- Medical Ultrasound Imaging Center, Department of Medical Imaging, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jørgen Avdal
- CIUS and the Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway; Department of Health Research, SINTEF Digital, Norway
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12
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Haniel J, Yiu BYS, Chee AJY, Huebner R, Yu ACH. Efficacy of ultrasound vector flow imaging in tracking omnidirectional pulsatile flow. Med Phys 2023; 50:1699-1714. [PMID: 36546560 DOI: 10.1002/mp.16168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ultrasound vector flow imaging (VFI) shows potential as an emerging non-invasive modality for time-resolved flow mapping. However, its efficacy in tracking multidirectional pulsatile flow with temporal resolvability has not yet been systematically evaluated because of the lack of an appropriate test protocol. PURPOSE We present the first systematic performance investigation of VFI in tracking pulsatile flow in a meticulously designed scenario with time-varying, omnidirectional flow fields (with flow angles from 0° to 360°). METHODS Ultrasound VFI was performed on a three-loop spiral flow phantom (4 mm diameter; 5 mm pitch) that was configured to operate under pulsatile flow conditions (10 ml/s peak flow rate; 1 Hz pulse rate; carotid pulse shape). The spiral lumen geometry was designed to simulate recirculatory flow dynamics observed in the heart and in curvy blood vessel segments such as the carotid bulb. The imaging sequence was based on steered plane wave pulsing (-10°, 0°, +10° steering angles; 5 MHz imaging frequency; 3.3 kHz interleaved pulse repetition frequency). VFI's pulsatile flow estimation performance and its ability to detect secondary flow were comparatively assessed against flow fields derived from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations that included consideration of fluid-structure interactions (FSI). The mean percentage error (MPE) and the coefficient of determination (R2 ) were computed to assess the correspondence of the velocity estimates derived from VFI and CFD-FSI simulations. In addition, VFI's efficacy in tracking pulse waves was analyzed with respect to pressure transducer measurements made at the phantom's inlet and outlet. RESULTS Pulsatile flow patterns rendered by VFI agreed with the flow profiles computed from CFD-FSI simulations (average MPE: -5.3%). The shape of the VFI-measured velocity magnitude profile generally matched the inlet flow profile. High correlation exists between VFI measurements and simulated flow vectors (lateral velocity: R2 = 0.8; axial velocity R2 = 0.89; beam-flow angle: R2 = 0.98; p < 0.0001 for all three quantities). VFI was found to be capable of consistently tracking secondary flow. It also yielded pulse wave velocity (PWV) estimates (5.72 ± 1.02 m/s) that, on average, are within 6.4% of those obtained from pressure transducer measurements (6.11 ± 1.15 m/s). CONCLUSION VFI can consistently track omnidirectional pulsatile flow on a time-resolved basis. This systematic investigation serves well as a quality assurance test of VFI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathas Haniel
- Schlegel Research Institute for Aging and Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Billy Y S Yiu
- Schlegel Research Institute for Aging and Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Adrian J Y Chee
- Schlegel Research Institute for Aging and Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Rudolf Huebner
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Alfred C H Yu
- Schlegel Research Institute for Aging and Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
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Xiao Y, Jin J, Yuan Y, Zhao Y, Li D. A New Estimation Scheme for Improving the Performance of Shear Wave Elasticity Imaging. ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE & BIOLOGY 2023; 49:289-308. [PMID: 36283938 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2022.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Shear wave velocity (SWV) reconstruction based on time-of-flight (TOF) is widely adopted to realize shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI). It typically breaks down the reconstruction of a SWV image into many kernels and treats them independently. We hypothesized that information exchange among kernels improves the performance of SWEI. Therefore, we propose the approach of iterative re-weighted least squares based on inter-kernel communication (IKC-IRLS). We also hypothesized that time-to-peak (TTP) is superior to cross-correlation (CC) in visualizing small targets because TTP uses higher shear wave frequencies than CC. To examine the hypotheses, IKC-IRLS was combined with TTP data and compared with four established methods. The five methods were tested by imaging several small-size stiff targets (2.5, 4.0 and 6.4 mm in diameter) using different kernel sizes in the simulation and real experiments. The results indicate that the IKC-IRLS approach can mitigate speckle noise and is robust to TTP outliers. Consequently, the proposed method achieves the highest contrast-to-noise ratio and the lowest mean absolute percentage error of target in almost all tested cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Xiao
- Department of Control Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
| | - Jing Jin
- Department of Control Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China.
| | - Yu Yuan
- Department of Control Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
| | - Yue Zhao
- Department of Control Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
| | - Dandan Li
- Department of Control Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
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Cigier A, Varray F, Garcia D. SIMUS: An open-source simulator for medical ultrasound imaging. Part II: Comparison with four simulators. COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE 2022; 220:106774. [PMID: 35398580 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2022.106774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Computational ultrasound imaging has become a well-established methodology in the ultrasound community. In the accompanying paper (part I), we described a new ultrasound simulator (SIMUS) for MATLAB, which belongs to the Matlab UltraSound Toolbox (MUST). SIMUS can generate pressure fields and radiofrequency RF signals for simulations in medical ultrasound imaging. It works in a harmonic domain and uses far-field and paraxial linear equations. METHODS In this article (part II), we illustrate how SIMUS compares with other ultrasound simulators (Field II, k-Wave, FOCUS, and Verasonics) for a homogeneous medium. We designed different transmit sequences (focused, planar, and diverging wavefronts) and calculated the corresponding 2-D and 3-D (with elevation focusing) RMS pressure fields. RESULTS SIMUS produced pressure fields similar to those of Field II, FOCUS, and k-Wave. The acoustic fields provided by the Verasonics simulator were significantly different from those of SIMUS and k-Wave, although the overall appearance remained consistent. CONCLUSION Our simulations tend to demonstrate that SIMUS is reliable and can be used for realistic medical ultrasound simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Cigier
- CREATIS: Centre de Recherche en Acquisition et Traitement de l'Image pour la Santé, Lyon, France
| | - François Varray
- CREATIS: Centre de Recherche en Acquisition et Traitement de l'Image pour la Santé, Lyon, France.
| | - Damien Garcia
- CREATIS: Centre de Recherche en Acquisition et Traitement de l'Image pour la Santé, Lyon, France.
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Vixège F, Berod A, Courand PY, Mendez S, Nicoud F, Blanc-Benon P, Vray D, Garcia D. Full-volume three-component intraventricular vector flow mapping by triplane color Doppler. Phys Med Biol 2022; 67. [DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/ac62fe] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Objective. Intraventricular vector flow mapping (iVFM) is a velocimetric technique for retrieving two-dimensional velocity vector fields of blood flow in the left ventricular cavity. This method is based on conventional color Doppler imaging, which makes iVFM compatible with the clinical setting. We have generalized the iVFM for a three-dimensional reconstruction (3D-iVFM). Approach. 3D-iVFM is able to recover three-component velocity vector fields in a full intraventricular volume by using a clinical echocardiographic triplane mode. The 3D-iVFM problem was written in the spherical (radial, polar, azimuthal) coordinate system associated to the six half-planes produced by the triplane mode. As with the 2D version, the method is based on the mass conservation, and free-slip boundary conditions on the endocardial wall. These mechanical constraints were imposed in a least-squares minimization problem that was solved through the method of Lagrange multipliers. We validated 3D-iVFM in silico in a patient-specific CFD (computational fluid dynamics) model of cardiac flow and tested its clinical feasibility in vivo in patients and in one volunteer. Main results. The radial and polar components of the velocity were recovered satisfactorily in the CFD setup (correlation coefficients,
r
= 0.99 and 0.78). The azimuthal components were estimated with larger errors (
r
= 0.57) as only six samples were available in this direction. In both in silico and in vivo investigations, the dynamics of the intraventricular vortex that forms during diastole was deciphered by 3D-iVFM. In particular, the CFD results showed that the mean vorticity can be estimated accurately by 3D-iVFM. Significance. Our results tend to indicate that 3D-iVFM could provide full-volume echocardiographic information on left intraventricular hemodynamics from the clinical modality of triplane color Doppler.
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