Aadaptive imaging with multi-phase apodization with cross-correlation: Phantom and in vivo results

Dual Apodization with Cross-correlation (DAX) is a novel beamforming technique that utilizes a pair of complementary receive amplitude apodizations for ultrasound image contrast enhancement. The effectiveness of DAX in vivo is often reduced because of the strong reverberation clutter signals caused by near-field structures. In this work, we propose a modified version of DAX, known as Multi-Phase Apodization with Cross-correlation (MPAX), which utilizes multiple pairs of complementary phase apodizations for robust suppression of reverberation clutter. Our experimental sponge phantom results and initial clinical results from a healthy volunteer show that MPAX achieves CNR values higher than or comparable to DAX with much more uniform reverberation clutter suppression throughout the field-of-view. Hence, MPAX results in a large improvement in image quality and shows great potential for more accurate diagnosis in clinics.