A Path-Based Model for Aberration Correction in Ultrasound Imaging.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Acoustics

Background:

• Pulse-echo ultrasound imaging quality is degraded by tissue aberrations.
• Current methods like phase screens or speed of sound maps have limitations in accuracy or computational cost.
• A need exists for accurate, near-real-time aberration correction in ultrasound.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a new ultrasound aberration correction model based on wave paths.
• To create an optimization method for accurate and efficient aberration correction.
• To validate the proposed method against existing techniques and in vivo data.

Main Methods:

• A novel model representing aberrations by ultrasound wave paths was developed.
• An optimization problem maximizing a coherence factor was formulated.
• Gradient ascent with variable splitting and analytical gradients was employed for problem-solving.

Main Results:

• Simulations demonstrated correction of strong aberrations, outperforming speed of sound map methods.
• In vivo experiments showed real aberration correction within seconds.
• The method proved effective for superficial tissue aberrations affecting ultrasound images.

Conclusions:

• The proposed wave path-driven model offers accurate and efficient ultrasound aberration correction.
• This method represents a significant advancement for real-time aberration correction in clinical ultrasound.
• The technique has the potential for broader application in medical ultrasound imaging.