An ideal observer approach to mechanical limits in b-mode ultrasound imaging.
In medical applications, the amplitude of ultrasonic pulses is often constrained by mechanical considerations summarized by a mechanical index. We apply the ideal observer approach in a simulation environment to evaluating the role of mechanical index limits on task performance in b-mode ultrasonic imaging. We simulate a linear array operating at 15 MHz and 60% fractional bandwidth, and consider three tasks related to breast sonography at a depth of 4 cm. The ideal observer suggests that there are gains in performance--and hence the quantity of diagnostic information--as the limit on mechanical index is raised. However these gains are almost completely erased after computation of a standard b-mode envelope.
Dept. of Psychological and Brain Sciences, U.C. Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. abbey@psych.ucsb.edu
Craig K
CK
Abbey
Nghia Q
NQ
Nguyen
William D
WD
O'Brien
Michael F
MF
Insana
D000465:Algorithms; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016217:Ultrasonography, Mammary / Q000379:methods*