Superresolution of Ultrasound Images Using the 1st and 2nd Harmonic Signal

journal article - other

English

This paper presents a new method of blind 2-D homomorphic deconvolution and speckle reduction applied to medical ultrasound images. The deconvolution technique is based on an improved 2-D phase unwrapping scheme for pulse estimation. The input images are decomposed into minimum-phase and allpass components. The 2-D phase unwrapping is applied only to the allpass component. The 2-D phase of the minimum-phase component is derived by a Hilbert transform. The accuracy of 2-D phase unwrapping is also improved by processing small (16x16 pixels) overlapping subimages separately. This takes the spatial variance of the ultrasound pulse into account. The deconvolution algorithm is applied separately to the 1st and 2nd harmonic images, producing much sharper images of approximately the same resolution and different speckle patterns. Speckle reduction is made by adding the envelope images of the deconvolved 1st and 2nd harmonic images. It does neither decrease the spatial resolution nor the frame rate, as the common compounding speckle reduction techniques do. The method is tested on sequences of clinical ultrasound images, resulting in high-resolution ultrasound images with reduced speckle noise.

Ultrasonic imaging, 2-D homomorphic deconvolution, 2-D phase unwrapping

TAXT, T.; JIŘÍK, R.

1. 2. 2004

IEEE inc.

0885-3010

IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonocs, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control

51

2

United States of America

163

175

13