Coherence-Based Fetal Ultrasonic Imaging

基于相干性的胎儿超声成像

• 批准号: 8761307
• 负责人: Gregg E. Trahey
• 金额: $ 33.71万
• 依托单位: DUKE UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-07-01 至 2018-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8761307
• 关键词: Abdomen; Acoustics; Age; Aneuploidy; Bladder; Cerebral Ventricles; Cesarean section; Clinical Data; Clinical Research; Custom; Data; Data Set; Developed Countries; Developing Countries; Development; Diagnostic; Environment; Evaluation; Face; Fetal Development; Fetal Growth; Fetal Monitoring; Fetal Skull; Fetal Structures; Fetal Viability; Fetus; First Pregnancy Trimester; Frequencies; Gestational Age; Health; Heart; Image; Imagery; Individual; Kidney; Lead; Limb structure; Liver; Location; Maternal Health; Measures; Methods; Metric; Monitor; Morbidity - disease rate; Morphologic artifacts; Mothers; Multiple Pregnancy; Noise; Nuchal Translucency; Obesity; Operative Surgical Procedures; Outcome; Ovary; Overweight; Pathology; Patients; Pelvis; Placenta; Population Group; Pregnancy; Relative (related person); Research; Role; Scanning; Second Pregnancy Trimester; Source; Stomach; Structure; System; Testing; Time; Ultrasonics; Ultrasonography; United States; Uterus; base; clinically relevant; comparative; design; fetal; imaging modality; improved; mortality; novel; public health relevance; simulation

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Ultrasonic imaging is widely used to monitor fetal growth and development during the first and second trimester and multiple studies document the resultant positive impacts on fetal and maternal outcomes. However, current methods fail to provide adequate visualization of key structures in many patients and alternative imaging modes are rarely available to these patients. We have developed novel ultrasonic beamforming methods that, instead of imaging echo brightness, display the spatial coherence of backscattered echoes. These methods, in simulation, phantom, and initial clinical studies, show markedly improved image quality over conventional ultrasonic images, especially in difficult-to-image patients. We propose to construct a real-time coherence imaging system on a commercially available diagnostic scanner. We propose phantom and simulation studies to assess and optimize coherence-based imaging methods under a wide range of imaging conditions. Related studies will examine the application of frequency and spatial compounding, synthetic aperture imaging, and adaptive imaging methods to coherence beamforming. Clinical studies are proposed to assess the role of coherence imaging in key fetal diagnostic tasks in first trimester and second trimester scans. Quantitative image quality metrics and observer studies are proposed to compare B-mode and coherence images with an emphasis on difficult-to-image patients. Related studies will measure the contribution of various sources of image degradation in fetal scans and compare image artifacts observed in conventional and coherence-based ultrasonic images. If successful, the proposed research could lead to a new class of ultrasonic beamforming methods that operate in imaging environments in which current methods fail.

描述（由申请人提供）：超声波成像广泛用于监测妊娠早期和中期的胎儿生长和发育，多项研究记录了其对胎儿和母亲结局的积极影响。然而，当前的方法无法提供许多患者关键结构的充分可视化，并且这些患者很少可以使用替代成像模式。我们开发了新颖的超声波波束形成方法，该方法不是成像回波亮度，而是显示反向散射回波的空间相干性。这些方法在模拟、模型和初步临床研究中显示，与传统超声图像相比，图像质量显着提高，特别是对于难以成像的患者。我们建议在商用诊断扫描仪上构建实时相干成像系统。我们提出模型和模拟研究来评估和优化各种成像条件下基于相干性的成像方法。相关研究将探讨频率和空间复合、合成孔径成像和自适应成像方法在相干波束形成中的应用。建议开展临床研究来评估相干成像在妊娠早期和中期扫描中关键胎儿诊断任务中的作用。提出了定量图像质量指标和观察者研究来比较 B 模式和相干图像，重点关注难以成像的患者。相关研究将测量胎儿扫描中图像劣化的各种来源的影响，并比较传统超声图像和基于相干性的超声图像中观察到的图像伪影。如果成功，拟议的研究可能会产生一种新型超声波波束形成方法，该方法可以在当前方法失败的成像环境中运行。