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Real-time spatial compounding with warping Groves, Adrian R.; Rohling, Robert N.
Abstract
Spatial compound imaging via beam-steering aims to improve image quality through signal averaging. However, compounding techniques are vulnerable to speed-of-sound and refraction distortions in non-homogeneous tissue. We have developed a system to perform image-based non-rigid registration in real time. The goal is to increase image quality by improving the alignment of the ultrasound frames before compounding. Frames are acquired by a PC-based ultrasound machine (Ultrasonix Inc, Vancouver, Canada), and transmitted to a Windows-based workstation through a high-speed network. Robust image-to-image registration (warping) is performed using block-based estimation of local shifts and thin-plate spline interpolation. Compound images are computed as a rolling average of the nine most recent warped frames. The procedure runs at 20 frames per second on a dual-processor Xeon workstation, demonstrating the feasibility of sophisticated real-time image processing on a standard PC platform. High speed is achieved through algorithm refinements, approximations in speed-critical sections, and low-level optimizations. The result is a fully-automatic real-time spatial compounding system with a demonstrated improvement in image quality. Tests of registration accuracy were performed on simulated data with realistic speckle patterns, using a 10% speed-of-sound variation and an 8° beam-steering angle. The average misalignment across the image was reduced by 70%, from of 0.22 mm to 0.07 mm; in the deepest parts of the image, alignment was improved by 91%. Improved quality is demonstrated on images of a human forearm, which show visibly improved edge sharpness. This work is one of a series of projects demonstrating the ability of a new open-architecture ultrasound system. Copyright 2004 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.
Item Metadata
Title |
Real-time spatial compounding with warping
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Creator | |
Publisher |
Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
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Date Issued |
2004
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Description |
Spatial compound imaging via beam-steering aims to improve image quality through signal averaging. However, compounding techniques are vulnerable to speed-of-sound and
refraction distortions in non-homogeneous tissue. We have developed a system to perform image-based non-rigid registration in real time. The goal is to increase image
quality by improving the alignment of the ultrasound frames before compounding. Frames are acquired by a PC-based ultrasound machine (Ultrasonix Inc, Vancouver, Canada),
and transmitted to a Windows-based workstation through a high-speed network. Robust image-to-image registration (warping) is performed using block-based estimation of
local shifts and thin-plate spline interpolation. Compound images are computed as a rolling average of the nine most recent warped frames. The procedure runs at 20 frames
per second on a dual-processor Xeon workstation, demonstrating the feasibility of sophisticated real-time image processing on a standard PC platform. High speed is achieved
through algorithm refinements, approximations in speed-critical sections, and low-level optimizations. The result is a fully-automatic real-time spatial compounding system
with a demonstrated improvement in image quality. Tests of registration accuracy were performed on simulated data with realistic speckle patterns, using a 10% speed-of-sound
variation and an 8° beam-steering angle. The average misalignment across the image was reduced by 70%, from of 0.22 mm to 0.07 mm; in the deepest parts of the image,
alignment was improved by 91%. Improved quality is demonstrated on images of a human forearm, which show visibly improved edge sharpness. This work is one of a series of
projects demonstrating the ability of a new open-architecture ultrasound system.
Copyright 2004 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.
One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution,
duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.
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Genre | |
Type | |
Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2011-07-05
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0107544
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URI | |
Affiliation | |
Citation |
Groves, Adrian R.; Rohling, Robert N. Real-time spatial compounding with warping. Medical Imaging 2004: Ultrasonic Imaging and Signal Processing edited by William F. Walker, Stanislav Y. Emelianov Proceedings of SPIE Volume 5373, 272, 2004.
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Publisher DOI |
10.1117/12.533848
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Peer Review Status |
Reviewed
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Scholarly Level |
Faculty
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Copyright Holder |
Rohling, Robert N.
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Rights URI | |
Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Citations and Data
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International