Title :
Lesion contrast enhancement in medical ultrasound imaging
Author :
Stetson, Paul F. ; Sommer, F.Graham ; Macovski, Albert
Abstract :
Methods for improving the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of low-contrast lesions in medical ultrasound imaging are described. Differences in the frequency spectra and amplitude distributions of the lesion and its surroundings can be used to increase the CNR of the lesion relative to the background. Automated graylevel mapping is used in combination with a contrast-weighted form of frequency-diversity speckle reduction. In clinical studies, the techniques have yielded mean CNR improvements of 3.2 dB above ordinary frequency-diversity imaging and 5.6 dB over sharper conventional images, with no post-processing graylevel mapping.
Keywords :
acoustic signal processing; backscatter; biomedical ultrasonics; image enhancement; medical image processing; speckle; 3.2 dB; 5.6 dB; amplitude distribution; automated graylevel mapping; contrast-to-noise ratio improvement methods; contrast-weighted method; frequency spectra; frequency-diversity imaging; frequency-diversity speckle reduction; lesion contrast enhancement; low-contrast lesions; medical diagnostic imaging; medical ultrasound imaging; post-processing graylevel mapping; Backscatter; Biomedical imaging; Filters; Frequency dependence; Lesions; Medical diagnostic imaging; Narrowband; Scattering; Speckle; Ultrasonic imaging; Hemangioma; Humans; Image Enhancement; Liver; Liver Cirrhosis; Liver Neoplasms; Mathematics; Phantoms, Imaging;
Journal_Title :
Medical Imaging, IEEE Transactions on
