Application of low-complexity generalized coherence factor to in vivo data

Area of Science:

• Medical imaging
• Ultrasound beamforming
• Signal processing

Background:

• Generalized coherence factor (GCF) beamforming enhances contrast-to-noise ratio and reduces sidelobe artifacts.
• Previous methods include GCF_real (without analytic signals) and GCF_bin (binarizing signals).

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the computational complexity reduction and contrast performance of GCF_real and GCF_bin on in vivo data.
• To investigate the impact of signal characteristics on contrast performance differences between methods.

Main Methods:

• Acquired channel RF data from human liver and gallbladder.
• Analyzed signals and power spectra at various observation points to understand contrast performance variations.
• Compared GCF, GCF_real, and GCF_bin performance.

Main Results:

• GCF and GCF_real yielded similar values.
• GCF_bin showed significant differences from GCF when signals from different channels originated from inside and outside the focal point.
• Binarization altered amplitudes of coherent and incoherent signals, causing GCF_bin discrepancies.

Conclusions:

• GCF_bin substantially reduces computational complexity but differs from GCF due to signal binarization.
• GCF_bin demonstrated superior artifact reduction compared to GCF, attributed to the elimination of amplitude information.
• GCF_bin represents a novel, efficient coherence factor with distinct characteristics.