A quantitative and qualitative study of ultrasound imaging methods

Abstract

Reduction of the speckle noise and other artifacts, inherent to the ultrasound imaging technique, and the increase of the resolution of reconstructed images are important features to improve image quality, assisting interpretation and increasing assertiveness of medical diagnosis. In this paper, we design a computational study to compare the results of conventional and spatial compounding imaging methods, using frames in B-Mode and/or Harmonic Imaging. A 3D phantom was simulated, using Matlab software in conjunction with the k-Wave toolbox, consisting of 4 targets with higher scattering density. The assessment of results is made by applying two graphical metrics: composite signal-to-noise ratio (SNRc) and composite contrast-to-noise ratio (CNRc). The results are satisfactory, and for the regions of interest, there is an improvement up to 143% of SNRc and 140% of CNRc metrics.