Detection and display of acoustic window for guiding and training cardiac ultrasound users

Sheng-Wen Huang; Emil Radulescu; Shougang Wang; Karl Thiele; David Prater; Douglas Maxwell; Patrick Rafter; Clement Dupuy; Jeremy Drysdale; Ramon Erkamp

doi:10.1117/12.2044051

20 March 2014 Detection and display of acoustic window for guiding and training cardiac ultrasound users

Sheng-Wen Huang, Emil Radulescu, Shougang Wang, Karl Thiele, David Prater, Douglas Maxwell, Patrick Rafter, Clement Dupuy, Jeremy Drysdale, Ramon Erkamp

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9040, Medical Imaging 2014: Ultrasonic Imaging and Tomography; 904014 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2044051
Event: SPIE Medical Imaging, 2014, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Successful ultrasound data collection strongly relies on the skills of the operator. Among different scans, echocardiography is especially challenging as the heart is surrounded by ribs and lung tissue. Less experienced users might acquire compromised images because of suboptimal hand-eye coordination and less awareness of artifacts. Clearly, there is a need for a tool that can guide and train less experienced users to position the probe optimally. We propose to help users with hand-eye coordination by displaying lines overlaid on B-mode images. The lines indicate the edges of blockages (e.g., ribs) and are updated in real time according to movement of the probe relative to the blockages. They provide information about how probe positioning can be improved. To distinguish between blockage and acoustic window, we use coherence, an indicator of channel data similarity after applying focusing delays. Specialized beamforming was developed to estimate coherence. Image processing is applied to coherence maps to detect unblocked beams and the angle of the lines for display. We built a demonstrator based on a Philips iE33 scanner, from which beamsummed RF data and video output are transferred to a workstation for processing. The detected lines are overlaid on B-mode images and fed back to the scanner display to provide users real-time guidance. Using such information in addition to B-mode images, users will be able to quickly find a suitable acoustic window for optimal image quality, and improve their skill.

Citation Download Citation

Sheng-Wen Huang, Emil Radulescu, Shougang Wang, Karl Thiele, David Prater, Douglas Maxwell, Patrick Rafter, Clement Dupuy, Jeremy Drysdale, and Ramon Erkamp "Detection and display of acoustic window for guiding and training cardiac ultrasound users", Proc. SPIE 9040, Medical Imaging 2014: Ultrasonic Imaging and Tomography, 904014 (20 March 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2044051

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