Numerical analysis of three-dimensional echo decorrelation imaging

J Acoust Soc Am. 2020 Jun;147(6):EL478. doi: 10.1121/10.0001334.

Abstract

A numerical model for three-dimensional echo decorrelation imaging, a pulse-echo ultrasound method applicable to thermal ablation monitoring, is presented. Beam patterns for steered transmit and receive array apertures are combined with a three-dimensional numerical tissue model to yield beamformed scan lines in a pyramidal configuration, volumetric B-mode images, and spatial maps of normalized decorrelation between sequential image volumes. Simulated three-dimensional echo decorrelation images of random media are analyzed as estimators of local tissue reflectivity decoherence, mimicking thermal ablation effects. The estimation error is analyzed as a function of correlation window size, scan line density, and ensemble averaging of decorrelation maps.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Hyperthermia, Induced*
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional*
  • Phantoms, Imaging
  • Ultrasonography