中国物理B ›› 2023, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (1): 14303-014303.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/ac6dad

• • 上一篇    下一篇

Quantitative ultrasound brain imaging with multiscale deconvolutional waveform inversion

Yu-Bing Li(李玉冰)1, Jian Wang(王建)1,†, Chang Su(苏畅)1,2,3,‡, Wei-Jun Lin(林伟军)1,2,3, Xiu-Ming Wang(王秀明)1,2,3, and Yi Luo(骆毅)2   

  1. 1 Institute of Acoustics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;
    2 University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
    3 Beijing Deep Sea Drilling Measurement Engineering Technology Research Center, Beijing 100190, China
  • 收稿日期:2022-02-14 修回日期:2022-04-15 接受日期:2022-05-07 出版日期:2022-12-08 发布日期:2022-12-27
  • 通讯作者: Jian Wang, Chang Su E-mail:wangjian1@mail.ioa.ac.cn;suchang@mail.ioa.ac.cn
  • 基金资助:
    Project supported by the Goal-Oriented Project Independently Deployed by Institute of Acoustics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. MBDX202113).

Quantitative ultrasound brain imaging with multiscale deconvolutional waveform inversion

Yu-Bing Li(李玉冰)1, Jian Wang(王建)1,†, Chang Su(苏畅)1,2,3,‡, Wei-Jun Lin(林伟军)1,2,3, Xiu-Ming Wang(王秀明)1,2,3, and Yi Luo(骆毅)2   

  1. 1 Institute of Acoustics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;
    2 University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
    3 Beijing Deep Sea Drilling Measurement Engineering Technology Research Center, Beijing 100190, China
  • Received:2022-02-14 Revised:2022-04-15 Accepted:2022-05-07 Online:2022-12-08 Published:2022-12-27
  • Contact: Jian Wang, Chang Su E-mail:wangjian1@mail.ioa.ac.cn;suchang@mail.ioa.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    Project supported by the Goal-Oriented Project Independently Deployed by Institute of Acoustics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. MBDX202113).

摘要: High-resolution images of human brain are critical for monitoring the neurological conditions in a portable and safe manner. Sound speed mapping of brain tissues provides unique information for such a purpose. In addition, it is particularly important for building digital human acoustic models, which form a reference for future ultrasound research. Conventional ultrasound modalities can hardly image the human brain at high spatial resolution inside the skull due to the strong impedance contrast between hard tissue and soft tissue. We carry out numerical experiments to demonstrate that the time-domain waveform inversion technique, originating from the geophysics community, is promising to deliver quantitative images of human brains within the skull at a sub-millimeter level by using ultra-sound signals. The successful implementation of such an approach to brain imaging requires the following items: signals of sub-megahertz frequencies transmitting across the inside of skull, an accurate numerical wave equation solver simulating the wave propagation, and well-designed inversion schemes to reconstruct the physical parameters of targeted model based on the optimization theory. Here we propose an innovative modality of multiscale deconvolutional waveform inversion that improves ultrasound imaging resolution, by evaluating the similarity between synthetic data and observed data through using limited length Wiener filter. We implement the proposed approach to iteratively update the parametric models of the human brain. The quantitative imaging method paves the way for building the accurate acoustic brain model to diagnose associated diseases, in a potentially more portable, more dynamic and safer way than magnetic resonance imaging and x-ray computed tomography.

关键词: ultrasound brain imaging, full waveform inversion, high resolution, digital body

Abstract: High-resolution images of human brain are critical for monitoring the neurological conditions in a portable and safe manner. Sound speed mapping of brain tissues provides unique information for such a purpose. In addition, it is particularly important for building digital human acoustic models, which form a reference for future ultrasound research. Conventional ultrasound modalities can hardly image the human brain at high spatial resolution inside the skull due to the strong impedance contrast between hard tissue and soft tissue. We carry out numerical experiments to demonstrate that the time-domain waveform inversion technique, originating from the geophysics community, is promising to deliver quantitative images of human brains within the skull at a sub-millimeter level by using ultra-sound signals. The successful implementation of such an approach to brain imaging requires the following items: signals of sub-megahertz frequencies transmitting across the inside of skull, an accurate numerical wave equation solver simulating the wave propagation, and well-designed inversion schemes to reconstruct the physical parameters of targeted model based on the optimization theory. Here we propose an innovative modality of multiscale deconvolutional waveform inversion that improves ultrasound imaging resolution, by evaluating the similarity between synthetic data and observed data through using limited length Wiener filter. We implement the proposed approach to iteratively update the parametric models of the human brain. The quantitative imaging method paves the way for building the accurate acoustic brain model to diagnose associated diseases, in a potentially more portable, more dynamic and safer way than magnetic resonance imaging and x-ray computed tomography.

Key words: ultrasound brain imaging, full waveform inversion, high resolution, digital body

中图分类号:  (Acoustic imaging, displays, pattern recognition, feature extraction)

  • 43.60.Lq
43.80.Qf (Medical diagnosis with acoustics) 43.35.Wa (Biological effects of ultrasound, ultrasonic tomography) 87.63.dh (Ultrasonographic imaging)