Ultrasound B-mode Imaging: Beamforming and Image Formation Techniques

• Main Author: Ramalli, Alessandro (auth)
• Other Authors: Matrone, Giulia (auth), Tortoli, Piero (auth)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2019
• Subjects: History of engineering & technology; n/a; signal-to-noise ratio (SNR); multi-perspective ultrasound imaging; dictionary learning; common carotid artery; spatial resolution; contrast enhancement; sparse representation; PMUT linear array; K-singular value decomposition; time resolution; cardiac imaging; coded excitation; plane wave; beam pattern; grating lobe suppression; spatial coherence; subcutaneous fat layer; cylindrical scanning; parallel beam forming; microbubble; MR-visible fiducial marker; ultrasonic imaging; speckle reduction; multi-line transmission; MRI; adaptive beamforming; super-resolution; filtered-delay multiply and sum beamforming; B-mode imaging; medical ultrasound; intima-media complex longitudinal motion; synthetic aperture; quantitative parametrization; arterial wall motion; pth root; beam forming; medical image processing; crosstalk artifacts; ultrasound imaging; diverging wave; 1-3 piezocomposite material; dynamic focusing; multi-line acquisition; image reconstruction; plane wave imaging; ultrasound; multi-line transmit; reconstruction; thyroid imaging; beamforming
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

Ultrasound medical imaging stands out among the other diagnostic imaging modalities for its patient-friendliness, high temporal resolution, low cost, and absence of ionizing radiation. On the other hand, it may still suffer from limited detail level, low signal-to-noise ratio, and narrow field-of-view. In the last decade, new beamforming and image reconstruction techniques have emerged which aim at improving resolution, contrast, and clutter suppression, especially in difficult-to-image patients. Nevertheless, achieving a higher image quality is of the utmost importance in diagnostic ultrasound medical imaging, and further developments are still indispensable. From this point of view, a crucial role can be played by novel beamforming techniques as well as by non-conventional image formation techniques (e.g., advanced transmission strategies, and compounding, coded, and harmonic imaging). This Special Issue includes novel contributions on both ultrasound beamforming and image formation techniques, particularly addressed at improving B-mode image quality and related diagnostic content. This indeed represents a hot topic in the ultrasound imaging community, and further active research in this field is expected, where many challenges still persist.