title: Bas-relief map using texture analysis with application to live enhancement of ultrasound images.
abstract: For ultrasound imaging, speckle is one of the most important factors in the degradation of contrast resolution because it masks meaningful texture and has the potential to interfere with diagnosis. It is expected that researchers would explore appropriate ways to reduce the speckle noise, to find the edges of structures and enhance weak borders between different organs in ultrasound imaging. Inspired by the principle of differential interference contrast microscopy, a "bas-relief map" is proposed that depicts the texture structure of ultrasound images. Based on a bas-relief map, an adaptive bas-relief filter was developed for ultrafast despeckling. Subsequently, an edge map was introduced to enhance the edges of images in real time. The holistic bas-relief map approach has been used experimentally with synthetic phantoms and digital ultrasound B-scan images of liver, kidney and gallbladder. Based on the visual inspection and the performance metrics of the despeckled images, it was found that the bas-relief map approach is capable of effectively reducing the speckle while significantly enhancing contrast and tissue boundaries for ultrasonic images, and its speckle reduction ability is comparable to that of Kuan, Lee and Frost filters. Meanwhile, the proposed technique could preserve more intra-region details compared with the popular speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion technique and more effectively enhance edges. In addition, the adaptive bas-relief filter was much less time consuming than the Kuan, Lee and Frost filter and speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion techniques. The bas-relief map strategy is effective for speckle reduction and live enhancement of ultrasound images, and can provide a valuable tool for clinical diagnosis.
authors: College of Engineering, Peking University, Haidian District, Beijing, China.
authors: Huarui
authors: H
authors: Du
authors: VINNO Technology (Suzhou) Company, Ltd., Suzhou, China.
authors: Rui
authors: R
authors: Ma
authors: Department of Radiology, Peking University First Hospital, Xicheng District, Beijing, China; Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Haidian District, Beijing, China.
authors: Xiaoying
authors: X
authors: Wang
authors: College of Engineering, Peking University, Haidian District, Beijing, China; Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Haidian District, Beijing, China. Electronic address: zhangjue@pku.edu.cn.
authors: Jue
authors: J
authors: Zhang
authors: College of Engineering, Peking University, Haidian District, Beijing, China; Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Haidian District, Beijing, China.
authors: Jing
authors: J
authors: Fang
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003199:Computer Systems; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Bas-relief filter; Canny edge detection; Edge enhancement; Field II simulation; Speckle reduction; Texture analysis; Ultrasound biomedical B-scan image