A transcranial multiple waves suppression method for plane wave imaging based on Radon transform.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Ultrasound Physics
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Transcranial ultrasound imaging is hindered by skull-induced signal distortions.
• Intracranial reflections are often masked by direct waves and skull artifacts.
• High-quality ultrasound imaging through the skull remains a significant technical challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a multiple wave suppression method for ultrasound plane wave imaging.
• To mitigate skull interference and improve the separation of weak intracranial signals.
• To enhance the quality and diagnostic potential of transcranial ultrasound imaging.

Main Methods:

• Developed an enhanced high-resolution linear Radon transform incorporating maximum entropy and Bayesian methods for wavefield separation.
• Utilized simulations with layered models and brain phantoms to demonstrate wavefield separation principles.
• Performed in vitro experiments using a monkey skull to validate the method's effectiveness.

Main Results:

• The proposed method effectively separates multiple waves and first arrival waves in the Radon domain.
• Simulations showed that the multiples suppression method reduces side and grating lobe levels by approximately 30 dB.
• In vitro experiments achieved an 85% enhancement in contrast-to-noise ratio for intracranial signals compared to conventional methods.

Conclusions:

• The developed multiple wave suppression method significantly overcomes skull interference in transcranial ultrasound imaging.
• Wavefield separation in the Radon domain is crucial for isolating weak signals from strong artifacts.
• This technique offers a substantial advancement for clearer and more reliable ultrasound imaging through the human skull.