High Resolution, High Contrast Beamformer Using Minimum Variance and Plane Wave Nonlinear Compounding with Low...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Ultrasound Technology
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Plane wave compounding (PWC) enhances ultrafast ultrasound imaging quality and frame rates.
• Existing beamforming methods may face limitations in resolution and complexity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel, low-complexity beamforming method for improved resolution and contrast in PWC.
• To evaluate the performance and robustness of the proposed method.

Main Methods:

• Utilized minimum variance (MV) weight from partial generalized sidelobe canceler for beamforming.
• Implemented dimension reduction for projecting data into lower dimensional space.
• Developed a fast second-order reformulation of delay multiply and sum (DMAS) for nonlinear compounding.

Main Results:

• Achieved 86.3% narrower main lobe width and 112% higher contrast ratio compared to DAS beamformer in simulations.
• Demonstrated enhanced robustness to channel noise.
• Maintained linear computational complexity, suitable for real-time implementation.

Conclusions:

• The proposed beamforming method significantly improves image resolution and contrast in PWC.
• The method is robust and computationally efficient, offering potential for real-time ultrafast ultrasound imaging.