Speckle tracking for endosonography

Type: Bachelor/Master/Diploma Thesis
Thesis by: N.N.
Advisor: Nassir Navab
Supervision by: Tobias Reichl

Abstract

Endoscopic ultrasound is a routinely used imaging modality for gastrointestinal diagnosis. For various applications it is desirables to track the spatial relation of sequential ultrasound images, i.e. movement of the ultrasound transducer. Due to the high resolution of the ultrasound images tracking might be possible using image content, in particular speckle patterns. This work will be done in close collaboration with the gastroenterological department of hospital rechts der Isar.

Clinical setting

Endoscopic ultrasound is a routinely used imaging modality for gastrointestinal diagnosis. For various applications it is desirables to track the spatial relation of sequential ultrasound images, i.e. movement of the ultrasound transducer. Due to the high resolution of the ultrasound images (the field of view is usually 30-50 millimetres) tracking might be possible using image content, and in particular speckle patterns.

Task

In the context of the given application, existing methods for image-based tracking of ultrasound sequences (speckle tracking, regression of echo intensity) need to be evaluated and may need to be adapted accordingly. The amount of information available from the ultrasound image sequence needs to be assessed, and a suitable representation for this information should be developed.

Methods

Endoscopic ultrasound data will be provided by our clinical collaborators at hospital rechts der Isar.

Literature

• Lang, A.; Mousavi, P.; Fichtinger, G. & Abolmaesumi, P. McAleavey^?, S. A. & D'hooge, J. (ed.) Fusion of electromagnetic tracking with speckle-tracked 3D freehand ultrasound using an unscented Kalman filter. Proceedings of SPIE Medical Imaging 2009: Ultrasonic Imaging and Signal Processing, 2009, 7265, 72651A SPIE
• Housden, R. J.; Gee, A. H.; Treece, G. M. & Prager, R. W. Sensorless reconstruction of unconstrained freehand 3D ultrasound data. Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 2007, 33, 408-419
• Prager, R. W.; Gee, A. H.; Treece, G. M.; Cash, C. J. C. & Berman, L. H. Sensorless freehand 3-D ultrasound using regression of the echo intensity. Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 2003, 29, 437-446
• Treece, G. M.; Gee, A. H.; Prager, R. W.; Cash, C. J. C. & Berman, L. H. High-Definition Freehand 3-D Ultrasound Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, 2003, 29, 529-546