Complete Complementary Coded Excitation Scheme for SNR Improvement of 2D Sparse Array Ultrasound Imaging

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Acoustics
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Driving 2D matrix arrays for 3D ultrasound imaging presents challenges in cable size, wiring, and data rate.
• Sparse arrays reduce element count for manageable systems but decrease sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a new coded excitation scheme to improve SNR in 3D ultrasound imaging using sparse arrays.
• To leverage complete complementary codes for their ideal auto-correlation and cross-correlation properties.

Main Methods:

• Developed an algorithm for generating complete complementary codes.
• Implemented a novel imaging sequence utilizing these codes for sparse array 3D ultrasound.
• Compared the proposed method against other coded excitation schemes via simulations.

Main Results:

• The proposed method significantly increased the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in sparse arrays.
• Achieved approximately a [Formula: see text] gain in SNR and a [Formula: see text] improvement in contrast compared to no coded excitation.
• Maintained image resolution and avoided frame rate reduction or correlation artifacts.

Conclusions:

• Complete complementary codes offer an effective solution for enhancing SNR in sparse array 3D ultrasound.
• This approach addresses key limitations of sparse arrays, improving imaging performance.
• The method shows promise for advancing 3D ultrasound diagnostic capabilities.