title: Linear tracking for 3-D medical ultrasound imaging.
abstract: As the clinical application grows, there is a rapid technical development of 3-D ultrasound imaging. Compared with 2-D ultrasound imaging, 3-D ultrasound imaging can provide improved qualitative and quantitative information for various clinical applications. In this paper, we proposed a novel tracking method for a freehand 3-D ultrasound imaging system with improved portability, reduced degree of freedom, and cost. We designed a sliding track with a linear position sensor attached, and it transmitted positional data via a wireless communication module based on Bluetooth, resulting in a wireless spatial tracking modality. A traditional 2-D ultrasound probe fixed to the position sensor on the sliding track was used to obtain real-time B-scans, and the positions of the B-scans were simultaneously acquired when moving the probe along the track in a freehand manner. In the experiments, the proposed method was applied to ultrasound phantoms and real human tissues. The results demonstrated that the new system outperformed a previously developed freehand system based on a traditional six-degree-of-freedom spatial sensor in phantom and in vivo studies, indicating its merit in clinical applications for human tissues and organs.
authors.forename: Qing-Hua
authors.initials: QH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Zhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Lian-Wen
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Xuelong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000295:instrumentation*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D059015:Wireless Technology / Q000295:instrumentation*