Quantitative non-linear ultrasonic imaging of targets with significant acoustic impedance contrast--an experimental study.

This study deals with the reconstruction, from ultrasonic measured data, of the sound speed profile of a penetrable two-dimensional target of arbitrary cross-section embedded in an infinite medium. Green's theorem is used to obtain a domain integral representation of the acoustical scattered field, and a discrete formulation of the inverse problem is obtained using a moment method. An iterative non-linear algorithm minimizing the discrepancy between the measured and computed scattered fields is used to reconstruct the sound speed profile in the region of interest. The minimization process is performed using a conjugated-gradient method. An experimental study with significant acoustical impedance contrast targets immersed in water was performed. Images of the sound speed profile obtained by inversion of experimental data are presented.

A 2-D anatomic breast ductal computer phantom for ultrasonic imaging.

Most breast cancers (85%) originate from the epithelium and develop first in the ductolobular structures. In screening procedures, the mammary epithelium should therefore be investigated first by the performing of an anatomically guided examination. For this purpose (mass screening, surgical guidance), we developed a two-dimensional anatomic phantom corresponding to an axial cross section of the ductolobular structures, which makes it possible to better understand the interactions between the breast composition and ultrasound. The various constitutive tissues were modeled as a random inhomogeneous continuum with density and sound speed fluctuations. Ultrasonic pulse propagation through the breast computer phantom was simulated using a finite element time domain method (the phantom can be used with other propagation codes). The simulated ductal echographic image is compared with the ductal tomographic (DT) reconstruction. The preliminary results obtained show that the DT method is more satisfactory in terms of both the contrast and the resolution.

Progress towards in vitro quantitative imaging of human femur using compound quantitative ultrasonic tomography.

The objective of this study is to make cross-sectional ultrasonic quantitative tomography of the diaphysis of long bones. Ultrasonic propagation in bones is affected by the severe mismatch between the acoustic properties of this biological solid and those of the surrounding soft medium, namely, the soft tissues in vivo or water in vitro. Bone imaging is then a nonlinear inverse-scattering problem. In this paper, we showed that in vitro quantitative images of sound velocities in a human femur cross section could be reconstructed by combining ultrasonic reflection tomography (URT), which provides images of the macroscopic structure of the bone, and ultrasonic transmission tomography (UTT), which provides quantitative images of the sound velocity. For the shape, we developed an image-processing tool to extract the external and internal boundaries and cortical thickness measurements. For velocity mapping, we used a wavelet analysis tool adapted to ultrasound, which allowed us to detect precisely the time of flight from the transmitted signals. A brief review of the ultrasonic tomography that we developed using correction algorithms of the wavepaths and compensation procedures are presented. Also shown are the first results of our analyses on models and specimens of long bone using our new iterative quantitative protocol.

Conformal ultrasound imaging system for anatomical breast inspection.

Ultrasound tomography has considerable potential as a means of breast cancer detection because it reduces the operator-dependency observed in echography. A half-ring transducer array was designed based on breast anatomy, to obtain reflectivity images of the ductolobular structures using tomographic reconstruction procedures. The 3-MHz transducer array comprises 1024 elements set in a 190-degree circular arc with a radius of 100 mm. The front-end electronics incorporate 32 independent parallel transmit/receive channels and a 32-to-1024 multiplexer unit. The transmit and receive circuitries have a variable sampling frequency of up to 80 MHz and 12-bit precision. Arbitrary waveforms are synthesized to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and to increase the spatial resolution when working with low-contrast objects. The setup was calibrated with academic objects and a needle hydrophone to develop the data correction tools and specify the properties of the system. The backscattering field was recorded using a restricted aperture, and tomographic acquisitions were performed with a pair of 0.08-mm-diameter steel wires, a low-contrast 2-D breast phantom, and a breast-shaped phantom containing inclusions. Data were processed with dedicated correction tools and a pulse compression technique. Objects were reconstructed using the elliptical back-projection algorithm.

Distorted Born diffraction tomography applied to inverting ultrasonic field scattered by noncircular infinite elastic tube.

This study focuses on the application of ultrasonic diffraction tomography to noncircular 2D-cylindrical objects immersed in an infinite fluid. The distorted Born iterative method used to solve the inverse scattering problem belongs to the class of algebraic reconstruction algorithms. This method was developed to increase the order of application of the Born approximation (in the case of weakly-contrasted media) to higher orders. This yields quantitative information about the scatterer, such as the speed of sound and the attenuation. Quantitative ultrasonic imaging techniques of this kind are of great potential value in fields such as medicine, underwater acoustics and nondestructive testing.

Weakly inhomogeneous media tomography.

Our objective is to develop an ultrasonic scanner for breast imaging. High resolution is obtained by using wide-band spherical waves transmitted and measured in the near field zone (i.e., close to the skin) all around the organ. The tomographic approach that we adopt allows us to use low central frequency waves (3-7 MHz) that are suitable for good penetration while maintaining high resolution and contrast. The procedure is thus suitable for early detection of tumors and increases the chances of total recovery. The novelty of the present reconstruction procedure is that it associates the signals acquired in transmission to the data measured in reflection over a large aperture. This enables us to correct the phase aberration induced by weak inhomogeneities whose sizes might be several wavelengths. Numerical tests based on Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations demonstrate the greater fidelity of the reconstruction.