title: Detecting changes in ultrasound backscattered statistics by using Nakagami parameters: Comparisons of moment-based and maximum likelihood estimators.
abstract: The Nakagami distribution is an approximation useful to the statistics of ultrasound backscattered signals for tissue characterization. Various estimators may affect the Nakagami parameter in the detection of changes in backscattered statistics. In particular, the moment-based estimator (MBE) and maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) are two primary methods used to estimate the Nakagami parameters of ultrasound signals. This study explored the effects of the MBE and different MLE approximations on Nakagami parameter estimations. Ultrasound backscattered signals of different scatterer number densities were generated using a simulation model, and phantom experiments and measurements of human liver tissues were also conducted to acquire real backscattered echoes. Envelope signals were employed to estimate the Nakagami parameters by using the MBE, first- and second-order approximations of MLE (MLE1and MLE2, respectively), and Greenwood approximation (MLEgw) for comparisons. The simulation results demonstrated that, compared with the MBE and MLE1, the MLE2and MLEgwenabled more stable parameter estimations with small sample sizes. Notably, the required data length of the envelope signal was 3.6 times the pulse length. The phantom and tissue measurement results also showed that the Nakagami parameters estimated using the MLE2and MLEgwcould simultaneously differentiate various scatterer concentrations with lower standard deviations and reliably reflect physical meanings associated with the backscattered statistics. Therefore, the MLE2and MLEgware suggested as estimators for the development of Nakagami-based methodologies for ultrasound tissue characterization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Statistics and Information Science, Ming Chuan University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jen-Jen
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Statistics and Information Science, Ming Chuan University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jung-Yu
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Statistics and Information Science, Ming Chuan University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Li-Fei
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ying-Hsiu
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Medical Imaging Research Center, Institute for Radiological Research, Chang Gung University and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Medical Imaging and Intervention, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yung-Liang
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Medical Imaging Research Center, Institute for Radiological Research, Chang Gung University and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Medical Imaging and Intervention, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan. Electronic address: tsuiph@mail.cgu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Po-Hsiang
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Tsui
keywords: Backscattered statistics; Envelope statistics; Maximum likelihood estimation; Nakagami distribution; Nakagami imaging