Section-thickness profiling for brachytherapy ultrasound guidance

Mohammad Peikari; Thomas Kuiran Chen; Everette C. Burdette; Gabor Fichtinger

doi:10.1117/12.877993

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1 March 2011 Section-thickness profiling for brachytherapy ultrasound guidance

Mohammad Peikari, Thomas Kuiran Chen, Everette C. Burdette, Gabor Fichtinger

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Proceedings Volume 7964, Medical Imaging 2011: Visualization, Image-Guided Procedures, and Modeling; 79640R (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.877993
Event: SPIE Medical Imaging, 2011, Lake Buena Vista (Orlando), Florida, United States

Abstract

Purpose: Ultrasound (US) elevation beamwidth causes a certain type of image artifact around the anechoic areas of the tissue. It is generally assumed that the US image is of zero thickness, which contradicts the fact that the acoustic beam can only be mechanically focused at a depth resulting in a finite, non-uniformed elevation beamwidth. We suspect that elevation beamwidth artifacts contribute to target reconstruction error in computer-assisted interventions. This paper introduces a method for characterization of the beamwidth for transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) used in prostate brachythyerapy. In particular, we measure how the US sectionthickness varies along the beam's axial depth. Method: We developed a beam-profiling device (a TRUS-bridge phantom) specifically tailored for standard brachytherapy ultrasound imaging systems to generate a complete section-thickness profile of a given TRUS transducer. The device was designed in CAD software and prototyped by a 3D printer. Result: The experimental results demonstrated that the TRUS beam in the elevation direction is focused closely to the transducer and theoretically the transducer would provide a better elevational resolution within that range. Conclusion: We presented a beam profiling phantom to measure the section-thickness of a transrectal ultrasound transducer for operating room use. However, there are some limitations which need to be addressed, for example, phantom sterilization and the speed of sound in the current medium of experiment which is not the same as that of biological tissues.

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Mohammad Peikari, Thomas Kuiran Chen, Everette C. Burdette, and Gabor Fichtinger "Section-thickness profiling for brachytherapy ultrasound guidance", Proc. SPIE 7964, Medical Imaging 2011: Visualization, Image-Guided Procedures, and Modeling, 79640R (1 March 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.877993

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