Compound Barker-Coded Excitation for Increased Signal-to-Noise Ratio and Penetration Depth in Transcranial Ultrasound Imaging
Emelina Vienneau, Brett Byram
Abstract
Clinical translation of transcranial ultrasound imaging has been unsuccessful due to poor image quality. One cause is insufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) due to poor acoustic penetration through the skull. Coded excitation can be used to increase SNR within FDA safety limits and without contrast agents. This work encompasses a method to design long binary coded pulses along with a pulse compression technique to completely suppress range lobes, thereby recovering axial resolution and improving SNR by as much as a factor of 10log10(code length). This optimized coded excitation framework was shown to be effective in transcranial imaging of five healthy adult subjects.
Topics & Concepts
UltrasoundSignal-to-noise ratio (imaging)AcousticsExcitationTranscranial DopplerImage qualitySecond-harmonic imaging microscopyMaterials scienceUltrasound imagingComputer scienceBiomedical engineeringOpticsArtificial intelligencePhysicsRadiologyImage (mathematics)MedicineTelecommunicationsQuantum mechanicsLaserSecond-harmonic generationUltrasound Imaging and ElastographyPhotoacoustic and Ultrasonic ImagingUltrasonics and Acoustic Wave Propagation