A FRACTAL MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ULTRASOUND SCATTERER DISTRIBUTION MODEL

This paper presents a multi-dimensional point scatterer distribution model for the context of ultrasound image simulation. The model has a simple parameterisation, has low computational requirements and is flexible enough to model spatial organisation of scatterers ranging from highly clustered to nearly regular. The model extends an existing 1D model by mapping 1D scatterer positions to a Hubert space-filling curve. The flexibility of the heuristic model is illustrated through experiments where common statistical models of ultrasonic speckle are fitted to simulated data. The results agree with theoretical predictions.