Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026
Three-Dimensional Ultrasonic Needle Tip Tracking with a Fiber-Optic Ultrasound Receiver
Published on: August 21, 2018
Effects of ultrasound section-thickness on brachytherapy needle tip localization error
Mohammad Peikari1, Thomas Kuiran Chen, Andras Lasso
1School of Computing, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada. mpeikari@cs.queensu.ca
Purpose:
Ultrasound section-thickness is the out-of-plane beamwidth causing major roles in creating image artifacts normally appearing around the anechoic areas. These artifacts can introduce errors in localizing the needle tips during any ultrasound-guided procedure. To study how section-thickness and imaging parameters can affect observing and localizing needle tips, we have conducted a typical calibration setup experiment.
Method:
Multiple needles were inserted orthogonal to the axial image plane, at various distances from the transducer. The experiment was conducted on a brachytherapy stepper for a curvilinear transrectal-ultrasound probe.
Result:
Experiments demonstrated that the imaging parameters have direct impacts on observing needle tips at different axial locations. They suggest specific settings to minimize the imaging artifacts.
Conclusion:
The ultrasound section-thickness and side lobes could result in misjudgment of needle insertion depth in an ultrasound-guided procedure. A beam profile could assist in considering the likelihood of position errors, when the effects of side lobes are minimized.
