Pulse-echo speed-of-sound imaging using convex probes

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Diagnostic Ultrasound

Background:

• Computed ultrasound tomography in echo mode (CUTE) is an emerging ultrasound-based imaging technique.
• It quantifies tissue speed of sound (SoS) for disease diagnosis, including liver fat fraction in fatty liver disease.
• Current CUTE implementations primarily use linear array probes, limiting imaging depth and view angle for applications like liver imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt Computed ultrasound tomography in echo mode (CUTE) for use with convex ultrasound probes.
• To develop computationally efficient strategies leveraging convex geometry for improved liver imaging.
• To validate the feasibility of accurate quantitative SoS measurements using convex probes in abdominal imaging.

Main Methods:

• Adapted CUTE methodology for convex ultrasound probes, focusing on geometric optimization.
• Utilized abdominal imaging phantoms to test quantitative SoS accuracy with convex probes.
• Performed preliminary in vivo liver imaging to assess real-world performance.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated accurate quantitative SoS measurements using convex probes in an abdominal phantom, despite smaller aperture size relative to image area.
• Preliminary in vivo liver imaging confirmed the feasibility of the adapted CUTE approach.
• Identified challenges in deep quantitative imaging of the liver due to tissue complexity.

Conclusions:

• Computed ultrasound tomography in echo mode (CUTE) is successfully adapted for convex probes, enhancing its applicability for liver imaging.
• Accurate quantitative speed of sound (SoS) measurement is achievable with convex probes, paving the way for improved fatty liver disease diagnosis.
• Further research is needed to address challenges in deep quantitative imaging of complex biological tissues like the liver.