Title :
Carotid Plaque 3D Compound Imaging and Echo-Morphology Analysis: a Bayesian Approach
Author :
Seabra, J.C. ; Sanches, J.M. ; Pedro, L.M. ; e Fernandes, J.F.
Author_Institution :
Tech. Univ. of Lisbon, Lisbon
Abstract :
This paper describes a method for volume reconstruction of the carotid plaque and presents a novel local characterization of its echo-morphology. The data is composed by a series of nearly parallel ultrasound images (3D Compound Imaging) and the acquisition is performed using traditional noninvasive ultrasound equipment available in most medical facilities, without need of a spatial locator device. The reconstruction algorithm uses the observed pixels inside the plaque, which were obtained in a pre-segmentation stage performed under medical guidance [1]. The paper proposes a Bayesian algorithm which estimates the underlying volume inside the plaque, by filtering and interpolating the data in order to remove speckle noise and fill non- observed regions, respectively. This volume is further used in plaque echo-morphology analysis. The observation model is based on the Rayleigh distribution, commonly used to model speckle noise in ultrasound images. A prior model based on the edge preserving Total Variation Gibbs distribution is also used to fill the gaps on non-evenly spaced observations. An energy function is derived from these models and an iterative algorithm computes its minimizer. The estimated function, defined in a given volume of interest, is used in global and local plaque characterization, namely to estimate its average levels of stenosis, echo-morphology and to identify vulnerable foci inside the plaque. The goal is to make atherosclerosis diagnosis more accurate and complete than using traditional 2D ultrasound analysis.
Keywords :
Bayes methods; biomedical ultrasonics; image denoising; image reconstruction; iterative methods; medical image processing; 3D compound imaging; Bayesian approach; Rayleigh distribution; carotid plaque; echo-morphology analysis; filtering; interpolation; iterative algorithm; parallel ultrasound images; speckle noise remove; total variation Gibbs distribution; volume reconstruction; Bayesian methods; Biomedical imaging; Filtering algorithms; Image analysis; Image reconstruction; Iterative algorithms; Medical diagnostic imaging; Reconstruction algorithms; Speckle; Ultrasonic imaging; Algorithms; Bayes Theorem; Carotid Arteries; Carotid Stenosis; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Models, Cardiovascular; Ultrasonography;
Conference_Titel :
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2007. EMBS 2007. 29th Annual International Conference of the IEEE
Conference_Location :
Lyon
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-0787-3
DOI :
10.1109/IEMBS.2007.4352402