Ultrasound coherent plane-wave compound imaging: Image quality evaluation in phantoms and breast lesions

Abstract

Coherent plane-wave compound imaging (CPWCI) can achieve high temporal resolution (e.g., to prevent breathing artefacts in volumetric scanning). It has to be verified that CPWCI using a limited number of steering angles (na) can achieve at least similar image quality as conventional focused imaging (CFI). The aim is to compare image quality between CPWCI and CFI in phantom and in breast lesions. In CPWCI, plane-wave channel data were recorded (na = 15, ±11 deg) by a Sequoia Ultrasound system (10L4, 14L5; Siemens Healthineers); beamformed (delay-and-sum (DAS), Lu’s-fk and Stolt’s-fk) for each steering angle, and coherently compounded. For comparison, images were recorded by CFI (10, 35 mm focus). Image quality metrics were obtained in images of a multipurpose phantom (CIRS Model057). We have just initiated a reader study (n = 200) to investigate how these phantom results translate to in vivo. Phantom results showed that contrast sensitivity (CS) and resolution (CR), lateral resolution (LR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR, depth < 45 mm) were similar for CPWCI and CFI (10, 35mm) for both transducers, whereas CNR (>45 mm), LR and penetration were improved. In CPWCI, Lu’s f-k and DAS resulted in optimal CS (10L4) and LR, and CNR, respectively. In the ongoing reader study, image quality of breast lesions will be evaluated.