A method for computer simulation of ultrasound Doppler color flow images--I. Theory and numerical method

Ultrasound imaging systems utilizing the pulsed Doppler principle are capable of providing images of blood flow in real time. We present a useful method for simulating flow images on a computer. Our method assumes that blood and surrounding tissue consist of many point-like scatters positioned randomly in three dimensions. The position-dependent acoustic response of each scatterer is calculated using the acoustic impulse response method. This method takes into account the spatial effects of the transducer geometry on both the amplitude and temporal response of point-scattering. Details of theory, assumptions made in the simulation, and numerical methods are described fully for a spherically focused transducer, as well as a discussion of signal processing for generation of the flow image. Motion of a single scatterer is investigated to test the performance of the simulation algorithm. This simulation method could potentially be beneficial for detailed study of current and future flow imaging systems.