Synthetic vascular ultrasound imaging through coupled fluid-structure interaction and ultrasound simulations

Although ultrasonic imaging is commonly applied in cardiovascular research and clinical practice, current blood flow and vessel wall imaging methods are still hampered by several limitations. We developed a simulation environment integrating ultrasound (US) and fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations, allowing construction of synthetic US-images based on physiologically realistic behavior of an artery. An in-house code was developed to strongly couple the flow solver Fluent and structural solver Abaqus using an Interface Quasi-Newton technique. A distensible tube, representing the common carotid artery (length 5cm, inner diameter 6 mm, thickness 1 mm), was simulated. A mass flow inlet boundary condition, based on flow measured in a healthy subject, was applied. A downstream pressure condition, based on a non-invasively measured pressure waveform, was used. US-simulations were performed with Field II, allowing to model realistic transducers and scan sequences as used in clinical vascular imaging. To this end, scatterers were "seeded" in the fluid and structural domain and propagated during the simulated scan procedure based on flow and structural displacement fields from FSI. Simulations yielded raw ultrasound (RF) data, which were processed for arterial wall distension and shear rate imaging. Our simulations demonstrated that (i) the wall distension application is sensitive to measurement location (highest distension found when tracking the intima-lumen transition); (ii) strong reflections between tissue transitions can potentially cloud a correct measurement; (iii) maximum shear rate was underestimated during the complete cardiac cycle, with largest discrepancy during peak systole; (iv) due to difficulties measuring near-wall velocities with US, shear rate reached its maximal value at a distance from the wall (0.812 mm for anterior and 0.689 mm for posterior side). We conclude that our FSI-US simulation environment provides realistic RF-signals which can be processed into ultrasound-derived medical images and measurements

Parallelisation of Ultrasound Simulations Using Local Fourier Decomposition

Tato práce přináší návrh nové metody pro distribuovaný výpočet 3D Fourierovy transformace s využitím lokální 3D dekompozice domény, popis její implementace a srovnání s dosud běžně používanou metodou globální 1D dekompozice domény. Nová metoda byla navržena, implementována a testována především pro budoucí použití v simulačním programu k-Wave, ale nic nebrání jejímu použití v jiných aplikacích. Implementace prokázala svoji efektivitu na superpočítači Anselm při testování na až 2048 jádrech, kde je až 3krát rychlejší než globální 1D dekompozice za cenu nepřesnosti výpočtu v řádu 10-5, neboť se podařilo významně snížit režii výpočtu v podobě komunikace mezi procesy. Na konci práce je diskutováno, jak lze s metodou výpočtu Fourierovy transformace využívající lokální dekompozici domén dosáhnout co nejlepších výsledků z hlediska přesnosti i rychlosti výpočtu, zároveň jsou zmíněny i její limity.This document introduces a brand new method of the 1D, 2D and 3D decomposition with the use of local Fourier basis, its implementation and comparison with the currently used global 1D domain decomposition. The new method was designed, implemented and tested primarily for future use in the simulation software called The k-Wave toolbox, but it can be applied in many other spectral methods. Compared to the global 1D domain decomposition, the Local Fourier decomposition is up to 3 times faster and more efficient thanks to lower inter-process communication, however it is a little inaccurate. The final part of the thesis discusses the limitations of the new method and also introduces best practices to use 3D Local Fourier decomposition to achieve both more speed and accuracy.

High-intensity focused ultrasound therapy in the uterine fibroid: a clinical case study of poor heating efficacy

A clinical case study of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment in the uterine fibroid was conducted. During the therapy, poor heating efficacy was observed which could be attributed to several factors such as the local perfusion rate, patient-specific anatomy or changes in acoustic parameters of the ultrasound field. In order to determine the cause of the diminished heating, perfusion analyses and ultrasound simulations were conducted using the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from the treatment. The perfusion analysis showed high local perfusion rate in the myoma (301.0 +- 25.6 mL/100 g/min) compared to the surrounding myometrium (233.8 +- 16.2 mL/100 g/min). The ultrasound simulations did not show large differences in the focal point shape or the acoustic pressure (2.07 +- 0.06 MPa) when tilting the transducer. However, a small shift (-2.2 +- 1.3 mm) in the axial location of the focal point was observed. The main causes for the diminished heating were likely the high local perfusion and ultrasound attenuation due to the deep location of the myoma.Comment: Conference Proceedin

The accuracy of volume flow measurements derived from pulsed wave Doppler: a study in the complex setting of forearm vascular access for hemodialysis

Purpose: Maturation of an arterio-venous fistula (AVF) frequently fails, with low postoperative fistula flow as a prognostic marker for this event. As pulsed wave Doppler (PWD) is commonly used to assess volume flow, we studied the accuracy of this measurement in the setting of a radio-cephalic AVF. Methods: As in-vivo validation of fistula flow measurements is cumbersome, we performed simulations, integrating computational fluid dynamics with an ultrasound (US) simulator. Flow in the arm was calculated, based on a patient-specific model of the arm vasculature pre and post AVF creation. Next, raw ultrasound signals were simulated, from which the Doppler spectra were calculated in both a proximal (brachial) and a distal (radial) location. Results: The velocity component in the direction of the US beam, in a centred, small, sample volume, can be captured accurately using PWD spectrum mean-tracking. However, deriving flow rate from these measurements is prone to errors: (i) the angle-correction which is influenced by the radial velocity components in the complex flow field; (ii) the largest error is introduced due to a lack of knowledge on the spatial flow profile

Implementation of 2D Ultrasound Simulations

Práca sa zaoberá návrhom a implementáciou 2D simulácie ultrazvukových vĺn. Simulácia ultrazvuku nachádza svoje uplatnenie v medicíne, biofyzike či rekonštrukcii obrazu. Ako príklad môžme uviesť použitie fokusovaného ultrazvuku na diagnostiku a liečbu rakoviny. Program je súčasťou simulačného balíka k-Wave určeného pre superpočítačové systémy, konkrétne stroje s architektúrou zdieľaného adresového priestoru. Program je implementovaný v jazyku C++ s využitím akcelerácie pomocou OpenMP. Pomocou implementovaného riešenia je možné riešiť simulácie veľkých rozmerov v 2D priestore. Práca sa ďalej zaoberá zjednotením kódu 2D a 3D simulácie pomocou moderných prostriedkov C++. Reálnym príkladom využitia je simulácia ultrazvuku pri transkraniálnej neuromodulácii a neurostimulácii, ktorá prebieha v doménach o veľkosti 16384x16384 (a viac) bodov mriežky. Simulácia takýchto rozmerov môže pri použití pôvodnej MATLAB 2D k-Wave trvať niekoľko dní. Implementované riešenie dosahuje voči MATLAB 2D k-Wave 7 až 8 násobné zrýchlenie na superpočítačoch Anselm a Salomon.The work deals with design and implementation of 2D ultrasound simulation. Applications of the ultrasound simulation can be found in medicine, biophysic or image reconstruction. As an example of using the ultrasound simulation we can mention High Intensity Focused Ultrasound that is used for diagnosing and treating cancer. The program is part of the k-Wave toolbox designed for supercomputer systems, specifically for machines with shared memory architecture. The program is implemented in the C++ language and using OpenMP acceleration.  Using the designed solution, it is possible to solve large-scale simulations in 2D space. The work also deals with merging and unification of the 2D and 3D simulation using modern C++. A realistic example of use is ultrasound simulation in transcranial neuromodulation and neurostimulation in large domains, which have more than 16384x16384 grid points. Simulation of such size may take several days if we use the original MATLAB 2D k-Wave. Speedup of the new implementation is up to 8 on the Anselm and Salomon supercomputers.

Acceleration of Axisymetric Ultrasound Simulations

Simulácia šírenia ultrazvuku prostredníctvom mäkkých biologických tkanív má širokú škálu praktických aplikácií. Patria sem dizajn prevodníkov pre diagnostický a terapeutický ultrazvuk, vývoj nových metód spracovania signálov a zobrazovacích techník, štúdium anomálií ultrazvukových lúčov v heterogénnych médiách, ultrazvuková klasifikácia tkanív, učenie rádiológov používať ultrazvukové zariadenia a interpretáciu ultrazvukových obrazov, modelové vrstvenie medicínskeho obrazu a plánovanie liečby pre ultrazvuk s vysokou intenzitou. Ultrazvuková simulácia však predstavuje výpočtovo zložitý problém, pretože simulačné domény sú veľmi veľké v porovnaní s akustickými vlnovými dĺžkami, ktoré sú predmetom záujmu. Ale ak je problém osovo symetrický, problém môže byť riešený v 2D.To umožňuje spúšťanie simulácií na mriežke s väčším počtom bodov, s menším využitím výpoč- tových zdrojov za kratšiu dobu. Táto práca modeluje a implementuje zrýchlenie vlnovej nelineárnej ultrazvukovej simulácie v axisymetrickom súradnicovom systéme realizovanom v Matlabe pomocou Mex súborov pre diskrétne sínové a kosínové transformácie. Axisymetrická simulácia bola implementovaná v C++ ako open source rozšírenie K-WAVE toolboxu. Kód je optimalizovaný na beh na jednom uzle superpočítaču Salomon (IT4Innovations, Ostrava, Česká republika) s dvoma dvanásť-jadrovými procesormi Intel Xeon E5-2680v3. Na maximalizáciu výpočtovej efektívnosti boli vykonané viaceré optimalizácie kódu. Po prvé, fourierové tramsformácie boli vypočítané pomocou real-to-complex FFT z knižnice FFTW. V porovnaní s complex-to-complex FFT to znížilo čas výpočtu a pamäť spojenú s výpočtom FFT o takmer 50%. Taktiež diskrétne sínové a kosínové transformácie sa počítali pomocou knižnice FFTW, ktoré v Matlab verzii museli byť vyvolané z dynamicky načítaných MEX súborov. Po druhé, aby sa znížilo zaťaženie priepustnosti pamäte, boli všetky operácie počítané jednoduchej presnosti pohyblivej rádovej čiarky. Po tretie, elementárne operá- cie boli paralelizované pomocou OpenMP a potom vektorizované pomocou rozšírení SIMD (SSE). Celkový výpočet C++ verzie je až do 34-násobne rýchlejší a využíva menej ako tretinu pamäte ako Matlab verzia simulácie. Simulácia ktorá by trvala takmer dva dni tak môže byť vypočítaná za jeden a pol hodinu. Toto všetko umožňuje počítať simuláciu na výpočetnej mriežke s veľkosťou 16384 × 8192 bodov v primeranom čase.The simulation of ultrasound propagation through soft biological tissue has a wide range of practical applications. These include the design of transducers for diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasound, the development of new signal processing and imaging techniques, studying the aberration of ultrasound beams in heterogeneous media, ultrasonic tissue classification, training ultrasonographers to use ultrasound equipment and interpret ultrasound images, model-based medical image registration, and treatment planning and dosimetry for high-intensity focused ultrasound. However, ultrasound simulation presents a computationally difficult problem, as simulation domains are very large compared with the acoustic wavelengths of interest. But if the problem is axisymmetric, the governing equations can also be solved in 2D. This allows running simulations with larger grid size, with less computational resources and in a shorter time. This paper model and implements an acceleration of the Full-wave Nonlinear Ultrasound Simulation in an Axisymmetric Coordinate System implemented in Matlab using Mex Files for FFTW DST and DCT transformations. The axisymmetric simulation was implemented in C++ as an extension to the open source K-WAVE toolbox. The codes were optimized to run using one node of Salomon supercomputer cluster (IT4Innovations, Ostrava, Czechia) with two twelve-core Intel Xeon E5-2680v3 processors. To maximize computational efficiency, several stages of code optimization were performed. First, the FFTs were computed using the real-to-complex FFT from the FFTW library. Compared to the complex-to-complex FFT, this reduced the compute time and memory associated with the FFT by nearly 50%. Also, real-to-real DCTs and DSTs were computed using FFTW library, which ones in Matlab version, had to be invoked from dynamically loaded MEX Files. Second, to save memory bandwidth, all operations were computed in single precision. Third, element-wise operations were parallelized using OpenMP and then optimized using streaming SIMD extensions (SSE). The overall computation of the C++ k-space model is up to 34-times faster and uses less than one-third of the memory than Matlab version. The simulation which would take nearly two days by Matlab implementation can be now computed in one and half hour. This all allows running the simulation on the computational grid with 16384 × 8192 grid points within a reasonable time.

Performance Evaluation of Pseudospectral Ultrasound Simulations on a Cluster of Xeon Phi Accelerators

The rapid development of novel procedures in medical ultrasonics, including treatment planning in therapeutic ultrasound and image reconstruction in photoacoustic tomography, leads to increasing demand for large-scale ultrasound simulations. However, routine execution of such simulations using traditional methods, e.g., finite difference time domain, is expensive and often considered intractable due to the computational and memory requirements. The k-space corrected pseudospectral time domain method used by the k-Wave toolbox allows for significant reductions in spatial and temporal grid resolution. These improvements are achieved at the cost of all-to-all communication, which are inherent to the multi-dimensional fast Fourier transforms. To improve data locality, reduce communication and allow efficient use of accelerators, we recently implemented a domain decomposition technique based on a local Fourier basis. In this paper, we investigate whether it is feasible to run the distributed k-Wave implementation on the Salomon cluster equipped with 864 Intel Xeon Phi (Knight’s Corner) accelerators. The results show the immaturity of the KNC platform with issues ranging from limited support of Infiniband and LustreFS in Intel MPI on this platform to poor performance of 3D FFTs achieved by Intel MKL on the KNC architecture. Yet, we show that it is possible to achieve strong and weak scaling comparable to CPU-only platforms albeit with the runtime 1.8× to 4.3× longer. However, the accounting policy for Salomon’s accelerators is far more favorable and thus their employment reduces the computational cost significantly