Coherence Plane-Wave Compounding with Angle Coherence Factor for Ultrafast Ultrasound Imaging

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Ultrasound Technology
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Ultrafast ultrasound imaging offers high frame rates but compromises resolution, contrast, and sensitivity.
• Coherence Plane-Wave Compounding (CPWC) balances image quality and frame rate but struggles with side lobe artifacts when reducing tilted plane waves.
• High frame rates are crucial for applications like shear wave tracking and complex blood flow imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a new imaging framework for high-frame-rate B-mode ultrasound with image quality comparable to standard focused methods.
• To significantly suppress side lobe artifacts in ultrafast ultrasound imaging.

Main Methods:

• Proposed a novel imaging framework combining Coherence Plane-Wave Compounding (CPWC) with the angle coherence factor.
• Evaluated the methodology using simulations and experimental phantoms.

Main Results:

• The proposed method achieved approximately 20 dB greater suppression of side lobe artifacts compared to standard CPWC imaging.
• Maintained equivalent image quality, particularly in lateral resolution and contrast, at high frame rates.

Conclusions:

• The new framework effectively suppresses artifacts in ultrafast ultrasound imaging.
• Enables high-quality B-mode imaging at very high frame rates, suitable for demanding applications.