FLUST: A fast, open source framework for ultrasound blood flow simulations

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Ultrasound Technology

Background:

• Ultrasound-based blood velocity estimation faces challenges due to numerous acquisition setups and estimators.
• The original Flow-Line based Ultrasound Simulation Tool (FLUST) had limitations in robustness and parameter selection.
• Evaluating different ultrasound velocity estimation schemes requires a standardized, reliable simulation platform.

Purpose of the Study:

• To improve the FLUST technique for more robust and user-friendly ultrasound data simulation.
• To develop an open-source framework for evaluating ultrasound-based blood velocity estimation schemes.
• To facilitate the design and optimization of ultrasound acquisition and velocity estimation methods.

Main Methods:

• Developed an improved, open-source FLUST simulation framework.
• Incorporated support for various transducer types, acquisition setups, and flow phantoms.
• Implemented automatic selection of spatial and temporal discretization parameters and reduced interpolation errors.

Main Results:

• Technical improvements led to reduced interpolation errors and signal power variability.
• Automatic parameter selection enhanced the simulation's efficiency and reliability.
• The validated framework demonstrated accurate speckle statistics, spatial/temporal correlation, and frequency content.

Conclusions:

• The enhanced FLUST framework is a reliable and efficient tool for developing ultrasound velocity estimation schemes.
• FLUST, as part of the UltraSound ToolBox (USTB), aids in the validation of new estimation algorithms.
• The improved simulation facilitates the entire design and optimization process for velocity estimators.