Conductivity reconstruction algorithms and numerical simulations for magneto–acousto–electrical tomography with piston transducer in scan mode

Conductivities tomography with the interactions of magnetic field, electrical field, and ultrasound field is presented in this paper. We utilize a beam of ultrasound in scanning mode instead of the traditional ultrasound field generated by point source. Many formulae for the reconstruction of conductivities are derived from the voltage signals detected by two electrodes arranged somewhere on tissue＇s surface. In a forward problem, the numerical solutions of ultrasound fields generated by the piston transducer are calculated using the angular spectrum method and its Green＇s function is designed approximately in far fields. In an inverse problems, the magneto-acousto-electrical voltage signals are proved to satisfy the wave equations if the voltage signals are extended to the whole region from the boundary locations of transducers. Thus the time-reversal method is applied to reconstructing the curl of the reciprocal current density. In addition, a least square iteration method of recovering conductivities from reciprocal current densities is discussed.     

High-resolution ultrasound-modulated optical tomography in biological tissues

We present a novel implementation of high-resolution ultrasound-modulated optical tomography that, based on optical contrast, can image several millimeters deep into soft biological tissues. A long-cavity confocal Fabry-Perot interferometer, which provides a large etendue and a short response time, was used to detect the ultrasound-modulated coherent light that traversed the scattering biological tissue. Using 15-MHz ultrasound, we imaged with high-contrast light-absorbing structures placed >3 mm below the surface of chicken breast tissue. The resolution along the axial and the lateral directions with respect to the ultrasound propagation direction was better than 70 and 120 microm, respectively. The resolution can be scaled down further by use of higher ultrasound frequencies. This technology is complementary to other imaging technologies, such as confocal microscopy and optical-coherence tomography, and has the potential for broad biomedical applications.     

Ultrasound tomography of soft biological tissues containing strong inhomogeneities

Applied aspects concerning experimental data processing have been discussed. The data are obtained on a prototype of ultrasound medical acoustic tomograph, designed for early diagnostics of benign and malignant tumors in soft biological tissues. The result of the study is the reconstructed distribution patterns of speed of sound and absorption in an organ under test.     

Comparing reconstruction algorithms for the 2D optoacoustic tomography of biological tissues

Three types of reconstruction algorithms for the optoacoustic tomography of biological tissues, based on delay-and-sum beam-forming, Fourier transform, and time reversal, are proposed. The comparison, based on both numerical and experimental data, shows the advantages of the delay-and-sum beam-forming method, which ensures acceptable computation time and improved quality of the reconstructed image.     

Deeply penetrating photoacoustic tomography in biological tissues enhanced with an optical contrast agent

Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) in a circular scanning configuration was developed to image deeply embedded optical heterogeneity in biological tissues. While the optical penetration was maximized with near-infrared laser pulses of 800-nm wavelength, the optical contrast was enhanced by Indocyanine Green (ICG) dye whose absorption peak matched the laser wavelength. This optimized PAT was able to image objects embedded at depths of as much as 5.2 cm, 6.2 times the 1/e optical penetration depth, in chicken breast muscle at a resolution of <780 microm and a sensitivity of <7 pmol of ICG in blood. The resolution was found to deteriorate slowly with increasing imaging depth. The effects of detection bandwidth on the quality of images acquired simultaneously by four different ultrasonic transducers are described.     

Experimental evaluation of a non-linear coded excitation method for contrast imaging

Previously, we have shown that for a single bubble, using chirps as the excitation signal improves both the linear and the non-linear response. Computer simulations of randomly distributed contrast agent bubbles show an increase of 10-13 dB in response when comparing pulse excitations with chirp excitations that have equal bandwidths and peak amplitudes. Second harmonic compression of simulated bubble echoes with chirp excitation shows low side-lobe levels and limited loss of axial resolution when compared to pulse excitation. Experimental results from water tank measurements with SonoVue contrast agent are in agreement with computer simulations showing increased signal-to-noise ratio and an increase of approximately 12 dB at the second harmonic when comparing pulse and chirp excitation.     

Potential of coded excitation in medical ultrasound imaging

Improvement in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and/or penetration depth can be achieved in medical ultrasound by using long coded waveforms, in a similar manner as in radars or sonars. However, the time-bandwidth product (TB) improvement, and thereby SNR improvement is considerably lower in medical ultrasound, due to the lower available bandwidth. There is still space for about 20 dB improvement in the SNR, which will yield a penetration depth up to 20 cm at 5 MHz [M. O'Donnell, IEEE Trans. Ultrason. Ferroelectr. Freq. Contr., 39(3) (1992) 341]. The limited TB additionally yields unacceptably high range sidelobes. However, the frequency weighting from the ultrasonic transducer's bandwidth, although suboptimal, can be beneficial in sidelobe reduction. The purpose of this study is an experimental evaluation of the above considerations in a coded excitation ultrasound system. A coded excitation system based on a modified commercial scanner is presented. A predistorted FM signal is proposed in order to keep the resulting range sidelobes at acceptably low levels. The effect of the transducer is taken into account in the design of the compression filter. Intensity levels have been considered and simulations on the expected improvement in SNR are also presented. Images of a wire phantom and clinical images have been taken with the coded system. The images show a significant improvement in penetration depth and they preserve both axial resolution and contrast.     

Characterization and analysis of coded excitation ultrasound parameters for rock properties

Coded excitation technology(CET) can effectively enhance the penetration and resolution of ultrasonic testing.To analyze the influence of rock properties on pulse compression performance(PCP) of coded excitation signals(CES),a numerical simulation,and an ultrasonic experiment on different rock samples are performed;and the detection ability of several CESs are also investigated and compared.The results of experiments showed that the loss of the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) of Barker coded signal with tapered linear frequency modulated carrier(BTLFM) is always less than Barker coded signal with sine carrier(BS),while the resolution loss of BTLFM is lower than tapered linear frequency modulated signal(TLFM).In sum,the results not only verifiy the effectiveness of CET,but also provide a basis for the parameter settings of coded signals used in rock ultrasonic testing.     

岩石特性的编码激励超声参数表征及分析

编码激励技术是提高超声穿透能力和分辨率的有效手段。为分析岩石特性对编码信号脉冲压缩性能的影响,通过数值模拟以及不同岩石的超声检测实验,研究并比较了几类编码信号的检测效果。结果表明幅度加权线性调频信号(TLFM)调制的Barker码信号(BTL)受到的信噪比损失低于正弦调制Barker码信号(BS),而分辨率损失要低于TLFM信号。实验结果验证了编码激励技术的有效性,为岩石超声检测中编码参数的设置提供了依据。     

Continuous optical coherence tomography monitoring of nanoparticles accumulation in biological tissues

In this study, dynamics of nanoparticles penetrating and accumulating in biotissue (healthy skin) was investigated in vivo by the noninvasive method of optical coherence tomography (OCT). Gold nanoshells and titanium dioxide nanoparticles were studied. The processes of the nanoparticles penetration and accumulation in biotissue are accompanied by the changes in optical properties of skin which affect the OCT images. The continuous OCT monitoring of the process of the nanoparticles penetration into skin showed that these changes appeared in 30 min after application of nanoparticles on the surface; the time of accumulation of maximal nanoparticles concentration in skin was observed in period of 1.5–3 h after application. Numerical processing of the OCT signal exhibited the increase in contrast between upper and lower parts of dermis and contrast decay of the hair follicle border during 60–150 min. The transmission electron microscopy technique confirmed accumulation of the both types of nanoparticles in biotissue. The novelty of this study is presentation of OCT ability to in vivo monitor dynamics of nanoparticles penetration and their re-distribution within living tissues.     

Parameter optimization of pulse compression in ultrasound imaging systems with coded excitation

A linear array imaging system with coded excitation is considered, where the proposed excitation/compression scheme maximizes the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and minimizes sidelobes at the output of the compression filter. A pulse with linear frequency modulation (LFM) is used for coded excitation. The excitation/compression scheme is based on the fast digital mismatched filtering. The parameter optimization of the excitation/compression scheme includes (i) choice of an optimal filtering function for the mismatched filtering; (ii) choice of an optimal window function for tapering of the chirp amplitude; (iii) optimization of a chirp-to-transducer bandwidth ratio; (iv) choice of an appropriate n-bit quantizer. The simulation results show that the excitation/compression scheme can be implemented as a Dolph–Chebyshev filter including amplitude tapering of the chirp with a Lanczos window. An example of such an optimized system is given where the chirp bandwidth is chosen to be 2.5 times the transducer bandwidth and equals 6 MHz: The sidelobes are suppressed to −80 dB, for a central frequency of 4 MHz, and to −94 dB, for a central frequency of 8 MHz. The corresponding improvement of the SNR is 18 and 21 dB, respectively, when compared to a conventional short pulse imaging system. Simulation of B-mode images demonstrates the advantage of coded excitation systems of detecting regions with low contrast.     

Optimization of sparse synthetic transmit aperture imaging with coded excitation and frequency division

An effective aperture approach is used for optimization of a sparse synthetic transmit aperture (STA) imaging system with coded excitation and frequency division. A new two-stage algorithm is proposed for optimization of both the positions of the transmit elements and the weights of the receive elements. In order to increase the signal-to-noise ratio in a synthetic aperture system, temporal encoding of the excitation signals is employed. When comparing the excitation by linear frequency modulation (LFM) signals and phase shift key modulation (PSKM) signals, the analysis shows that chirps are better for excitation, since at the output of a compression filter the sidelobes generated are much smaller than those produced by the binary PSKM signals. Here, an implementation of a fast STA imaging is studied by spatial encoding with frequency division of the LFM signals. The proposed system employs a 64-element array with only four active elements used during transmit. The two-dimensional point spread function (PSF) produced by such a sparse STA system is compared to the PSF produced by an equivalent phased array system, using the Field II simulation program. The analysis demonstrates the superiority of the new sparse STA imaging system while using coded excitation and frequency division. Compared to a conventional phased array imaging system, this system acquires images of equivalent quality 60 times faster, when the transmit elements are fired in pairs consecutively and the power level used during transmit is very low. The fastest acquisition time is achieved when all transmit elements are fired simultaneously, which improves detectability, but at the cost of a slight degradation of the axial resolution. In real-time implementation, however, it must be borne in mind that the frame rate of a STA imaging system depends not only on the acquisition time of the data but also on the processing time needed for image reconstruction. Comparing to phased array imaging, a significant increase in the frame rate of a STA imaging system is possible if and only if an equivalent time efficient algorithm is used for image reconstruction.     

Application of golay complementary coded excitation schemes for non-destructive testing of sandwich structures

In recent years, InfraRed Thermography (IRT) has become a widely accepted non-destructive testing technique to evaluate the structural integrity of composite sandwich structures due to its full-field, remote, fast and in-service inspection capabilities. This paper presents a novel infrared thermographic approach named as Golay complementary coded thermal wave imaging is presented to detect disbonds in a sandwich structure having face sheets from Glass/Carbon Fibre Reinforced (GFR/CFR) laminates and core of the wooden block.     

Performance analysis of superposition coded modulation

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of superposition coded modulation (SCM). Two types of SCM schemes, i.e., the single-code SCM (SC-SCM) and multi-code SCM (MC-SCM), are analyzed. The basic features of SCM are described, followed by the information-theoretic analysis. Different encoding/decoding strategies are compared from the capacity point of view. A semi-analytical evolution technique is proposed to track the convergence behavior of iterative decoding. Analytical error-rate analysis is then conducted to predict the asymptotic performance. Numerous examples demonstrate that the analysis tools discussed in this paper can provide reasonably accurate performance prediction for SCM schemes.     

Quadrature fringes wide-field optical coherence tomography and its applications to biological tissues

We propose and demonstrate quadrature fringes wide-field optical coherence tomography (QF WF OCT) to expand an optical Hilbert transformation to two-dimensions. This OCT simultaneously measures two quadrature interference images using a single InGaAs CCD camera to obtain en face OCT images. The axial and lateral resolutions are measured at 29 μm in air and 70 μm limited by a pixel size of camera using a superluminescent diode with a wavelength of 1.3 μm as the light source; the system sensitivity is determined to be −90 dB. The area of the en face OCT images is 4.0 mm × 4.0 mm (160 × 160  pixels). The OCT images are measured axially with steps of 10 μm. The en face OCT images of a in vivo human fingertip and a in situ rat brain are three-dimensionally measured up to the depth of about 3 mm with some degradations of a lateral resolution.     

2D-Mueller-matrix tomography of optically anisotropic polycrystalline networks of biological tissues histological sections

A new technique of Mueller-matrix mapping of the birefringent structure of biological preparations of human organs tissues is suggested. The algorithms of reconstruction of average values and magnitude of fluctuations of the phase (birefringence) and amplitude (dichroism) of optically anisotropic structure of myocardium and connective tissue component of the vaginal wall histological section are proposed. The magnitudes and ranges of changes in the statistical moments of the 1st-4th order that characterize the distribution of average values and magnitude of fluctuations of birefringence and dichroism of the myocardium and connective tissue of the vaginal tissues histological sections were determined. Joint studies of distributions of the characteristics of phase and amplitude of the anisotropy of myocardium and connective tissue component of the vaginal wall tissues of different states were performed. The cases of various necrotic changes in the myocardium and pathological conditions of the vagina wall (prolapse of the genitals) are examined. Balanced accuracy of the method of Mueller-matrix polarization-phase and diffuse tomography of optically anisotropic polycrystalline networks in the differentiation of necrotic and pathological changes in human organs is determined.     

Estimation of ultrasonic attenuation in a bone using coded excitation

This paper describes a novel approach to estimate broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) in a bone structure in human in vivo using coded excitation. BUA is an accepted indicator for assessment of osteoporosis. In the tested approach a coded acoustic signal is emitted and then the received echoes are compressed into brief, high amplitude pulses making use of matched filters and correlation receivers. In this way the acoustic peak pressure amplitude probing the tissue can be markedly decreased whereas the average transmitted intensity increases proportionally to the length of the code. This paper examines the properties of three different transmission schemes, based on Barker code, chirp and Golay code. The system designed is capable of generating 16 bits complementary Golay code (CGC), linear frequency modulated (LFM) chirp and 13-bit Barker code (BC) at 0.5 and 1 MHz center frequencies. Both in vivo data acquired from healthy heel bones and in vitro data obtained from human calcaneus were examined and the comparison between the results using coded excitation and two cycles sine burst is presented. It is shown that CGC system allows the effective range of frequencies employed in the measurement of broadband acoustic energy attenuation in the trabecular bone to be doubled in comparison to the standard 0.5 MHz pulse transmission. The algorithm used to calculate the pairs of Golay sequences of the different length, which provide the temporal side-lobe cancellation is also presented. Current efforts are focused on adapting the system developed for operation in pulse-echo mode; this would allow examination and diagnosis of bones with limited access such as hip bone.     

Improved scatterer size estimation using backscatter coefficient measurements with coded excitation and pulse compression

Scatterer size estimates from ultrasonic backscatter coefficient measurements have been used to differentiate diseased tissue from normal. A low echo signal-to-noise ratio (eSNR) leads to increased bias and variance in scatterer size estimates. One way to improve the eSNR is to use coded excitation (CE). The normalized backscatter coefficient was measured from three tissue-mimicking phantoms by using CE and conventional pulsing (CP) techniques. The three phantoms contained randomly spaced glass beads with median diameters of 30, 45, and 82 mum, respectively. Measurements were made with two weakly focused, single-element transducers (f(0)=5 MHz and f(0)=10 MHz). For CE, a linear frequency modulated chirp with a time bandwidth product of 40 was used and pulse compression was accomplished by the use of a Wiener filter. Preliminary results indicated that improved estimation bias versus penetration depth was obtained by using CE compared to CP. The depth of penetration, where the accuracy of scatterer diameter estimates (absolute divergence <25%) were obtained with the 10 MHz transducer, was increased up to 50% by using CE versus CP techniques. In addition, for a majority of the phantoms, the increase in eSNR from CE resulted in a modest reduction in estimate variance versus depth of penetration.     

Second-harmonic tomography of tissues

A novel noninvasive second-harmonic-generation tomographic method of mapping the structure of animal tissues by use of 100-fs laser pulses at 625nm is described. Subsurface structures were measured with this approach, which is potentially a symmetry-sensitive tool for optical histological reconstruction.