Three-dimensional coherence beamforming using row-column arrays and matrix arrays

Abstract

Much advancement in 3D ultrasound imaging has been achieved in recent years, allowing for its implementation in many research capacities. Translation of 3D imaging to a clinical setting has been hindered by small fields of view, expensive equipment and poor image quality. For ultrafast imaging, these challenges are accentuated by the need for a small number of transmission events. The row-column array is an emerging technology which can produce large field-of-view 3D ultrasound images, however, they can produce major artefacts when operated at high frame rates. Here we present some techniques which have been developed to improve the image quality and reduce the artifact level of row-column arrays by exploiting the incoherence of the transmission schemes. Presented will be the Row-Column specific Frame Multiply and Sum beamforming along with a technique for implementing Acoustic Sub-Aperture Processing which improves signal-to-noise ratio whilst also increasing the effective frame rate. Additional coherence-based algorithms, which have previously been developed for 2D imaging, are implemented and presented here for 3D imaging using a matrix array probe. All of the above algorithms have been optimised for super-resolution but should improve all types of 3D ultrasound imaging.