239 research outputs found
Ultrasound Signal Processing: From Models to Deep Learning
Medical ultrasound imaging relies heavily on high-quality signal processing
algorithms to provide reliable and interpretable image reconstructions.
Hand-crafted reconstruction methods, often based on approximations of the
underlying measurement model, are useful in practice, but notoriously fall
behind in terms of image quality. More sophisticated solutions, based on
statistical modelling, careful parameter tuning, or through increased model
complexity, can be sensitive to different environments. Recently, deep learning
based methods have gained popularity, which are optimized in a data-driven
fashion. These model-agnostic methods often rely on generic model structures,
and require vast training data to converge to a robust solution. A relatively
new paradigm combines the power of the two: leveraging data-driven deep
learning, as well as exploiting domain knowledge. These model-based solutions
yield high robustness, and require less trainable parameters and training data
than conventional neural networks. In this work we provide an overview of these
methods from the recent literature, and discuss a wide variety of ultrasound
applications. We aim to inspire the reader to further research in this area,
and to address the opportunities within the field of ultrasound signal
processing. We conclude with a future perspective on these model-based deep
learning techniques for medical ultrasound applications
Learning Sub-Sampling and Signal Recovery with Applications in Ultrasound Imaging
Limitations on bandwidth and power consumption impose strict bounds on data
rates of diagnostic imaging systems. Consequently, the design of suitable (i.e.
task- and data-aware) compression and reconstruction techniques has attracted
considerable attention in recent years. Compressed sensing emerged as a popular
framework for sparse signal reconstruction from a small set of compressed
measurements. However, typical compressed sensing designs measure a
(non)linearly weighted combination of all input signal elements, which poses
practical challenges. These designs are also not necessarily task-optimal. In
addition, real-time recovery is hampered by the iterative and time-consuming
nature of sparse recovery algorithms. Recently, deep learning methods have
shown promise for fast recovery from compressed measurements, but the design of
adequate and practical sensing strategies remains a challenge. Here, we propose
a deep learning solution termed Deep Probabilistic Sub-sampling (DPS), that
learns a task-driven sub-sampling pattern, while jointly training a subsequent
task model. Once learned, the task-based sub-sampling patterns are fixed and
straightforwardly implementable, e.g. by non-uniform analog-to-digital
conversion, sparse array design, or slow-time ultrasound pulsing schemes. The
effectiveness of our framework is demonstrated in-silico for sparse signal
recovery from partial Fourier measurements, and in-vivo for both anatomical
image and tissue-motion (Doppler) reconstruction from sub-sampled medical
ultrasound imaging data
Deep Learning for Accelerated Ultrasound Imaging
In portable, 3-D, or ultra-fast ultrasound (US) imaging systems, there is an
increasing demand to reconstruct high quality images from limited number of
data. However, the existing solutions require either hardware changes or
computationally expansive algorithms. To overcome these limitations, here we
propose a novel deep learning approach that interpolates the missing RF data by
utilizing the sparsity of the RF data in the Fourier domain. Extensive
experimental results from sub-sampled RF data from a real US system confirmed
that the proposed method can effectively reduce the data rate without
sacrificing the image quality.Comment: Invited paper for ICASSP 2018 Special Session for "Machine Learning
in Medical Imaging: from Measurement to Diagnosis
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