3-D ultrasound imaging system and method
A 3-D region of interest (ROI) of a body is imaged, preferably using an ultrasound transducer. The intensity of an echo signal from each of a pattern of pixels within the ROI is measured and stored. The pixels are then grouped into pixel blocks, and the intensity values for the pixels in each sequentially selected current block are compiled in a current histogram. Each current histogram is compared with a reference histogram that corresponds to the distribution of echo signal intensities in a known region of speckle. A structure likelihood value is then computed based on the comparison, where the structure likelihood value indicates how likely it is that the current block corresponds to a structure of interest as opposed to noise. The intensity value for any pixel likely to be noise is preferably scaled down. The scaled intensity values are then projected, preferably using a maximum intensity projection, onto a 2-D display plane, a representation of which is then displayed for a user to see. The invention is able to image structures throughout the 3-D ROI even when they would otherwise be obscured by the speckle.
Siemens Medical Systems, Inc.
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A61B Y10S A61B A61B G01S A61B A61B A61B G01S
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Dong-Chyuan Jian-Feng
Liu Chen