Automatic Optimization of Chirp Setting Parameters In Medical Ultrasound Contrast Imaging

Amira Zaylaa (1, 2) , Sébastien Ménigot (3, 2, 2) , Jamal Charara (1) , Jean-Marc Girault (2)

1 Department of Physics and Electronics
2 iBraiN - Imaging, Brain & Neuropsychiatry
3 IUT de Ville-d'Avray

Medical ultrasound contrast imaging is a powerful modality undergoing successive developments in the last decade to date. Lately, pulse inversion has been used in both ultrasound tissue harmonic and contrast imaging. However, there was a tradeoff between resolution and penetration. Chirp excitations partially solved the tradeoff, but the chirp setting parameters were not optimized. The present work proposes for the first time combining chirp inversion with ultrasound contrast imaging, with the motivation to improve the contrast, by automatically optimizing the setting parameters of chirp excitation, it is thus an optimal command problem. Linear chirps, 5 ?m diameter microbubbles and gradient ascent algorithm were simulated to optimize the chirp setting parameters. Simulations exhibited a gain of 5 dB by automatic optimization of chirp inversion relative to pulse inversion. The automatic optimization process was quite fast. Combining chirp inversion with ultrasound contrast imaging led to a maximum backscattered power permitting high contrast outcomes and optimum parameters.

Mots clés: Medical ultrasound contrast imaging; chirp inversion; chirp setting parameters; automatic technique; optimal command

Domaines: Imagerie; Traitement du signal et de l'image [eess.SP]; Traitement du signal et de l'image [eess.SP]

Amira Zaylaa, Sébastien Ménigot, Jamal Charara, Jean-Marc Girault. Automatic Optimization of Chirp Setting Parameters In Medical Ultrasound Contrast Imaging. Journal of Life Sciences, 2013, 7 (6), pp.592-598. ⟨10.17265/1934-7391/2013.06.005⟩. ⟨hal-00881481⟩