Application of matched filters in time-scale domain for elastography

Elasticity imaging offers the possibility of detecting changes in elastic properties and assesses the biomechanical properties of soft tissue with increased sensitivity and spatial resolution compared with conventional palpation. However, the range of applied strains is limited by the concomitant increase of echo signal decorrelation. The decorrelation is mainly introduced by diffuse scattering, while the regular scattering is highly correlated. Because the regular scattering and diffuse scattering localize with different patterns in different ranges of time-scale plane, a new method is put forward to detect the regular scattering with matched filters based on wavelet transform using Generalized Likelihood Ratio Test (GLRT). The simulation results illustrate that the change in estimated mean interscatterer spacing introduced by a SNR of -10 dB is 1.1 ± 2.8%. Thus, by tracking the highly correlated regular scattering, the internal strain can be estimated based on the change in interscatterer spacing under the condition of large surface deformation. The experiment studies show that the internal strain can be estimated up to 10% applied deformation in phantom and 5% strain in porcine liver. PACS numbers: 43.80,43.60