Effects of swept scanning on velocity estimation.
The swept-scan technique adopted in high-frequency ultrasound involves mechanically scanning a single-element transducer to acquire image data. Unlike conventional step scanning, where the image data are acquired at discrete positions, the swept-scan technique acquires the image data while the transducer is continuously moving. Such a scanning method is particularly advantageous for Doppler flow estimation because its frame rate is higher than that for the step-scan technique. However, the effects of the transducer motion on the accuracy of velocity estimation have not been studied comprehensively. This study employed a k-space approach to experimentally investigate the effects of swept scanning on both conventional Doppler axial velocity estimation and spectral-broadening-based lateral velocity estimation using a 45-MHz transducer. The results indicate that such effects must be corrected in order to obtain an accurate estimation of flow velocities.
Jeng
Geng-Shi
GS
Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Li
Pai-Chi
PC
D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology*; D018056:Hemorheology; D006801:Humans; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D014159:Transducers; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler / Q000295:instrumentation*