Filtered delay multiply and sum beamforming in high frame-rate ultrasound imaging

Abstract

Filtered Delay Multiply and Sum (F-DMAS) is an ultrasound beamforming technique derived from microwave imaging, which exploits the spatial autocorrelation of the receive aperture to improve the quality of images. Being based on the spatial coherence of backscattered echoes, it reconstructs a pulse-echo beam with lower sidelobes and a narrower main lobe as compared to standard Delay and Sum (DAS). Thanks to this, F-DMAS can be effectively employed in high frame-rate (HFR) ultrasound imaging, where higher acquisition rates come together with more artifacts, lower contrast and worse spatial resolution. This presentation will provide an overview of the most recent applications of F-DMAS in HFR imaging, e.g., with multi-line transmission and plane-wave techniques. Results of simulations, phantom experiments and in vivo scans, particularly of cardiac imaging, show that F-DMAS represents an effective solution to improve image quality, suppress artifacts and increase the frame-rate at the same time. Moreover, two alternative methods, developed starting from the F-DMAS formulation, will be shown as they further enhance the image quality in HFR imaging.