Piezofibre composite transducers for next generation 3D USCT

At the Karlsruhe Institue of Technology (KIT), a 3D-Ultrasound Computer Tomography (3D-USCT) medical imaging system for early breast cancer detection is currently developed. With the next generation of 3D-USCT 2.5, the current region of interest (ROI) of 10 x 10 x 10 cm³ shall be increased to 20 x 20 x 20 cm³ to allow reliable imaging results...

A Joint Inversion Method for Breast Imaging using Electromagnetic and Acoustics waves

Ultrasound and microwave scanners are developed to scan the breast on the presence of cancer. Typically, these modalities are used independently. Here we investigate if we can achieve an improved resolution if we merge both modalities into a single device. In particular, we test if we can improve the resolution of the resulting images by...

Modelling the Iono-Acoustic Wave Field for Proton Beam Range Verification

In proton therapy, cancer patients are irradiated with high energy protons. For a successful treatment it is important that the location with the highest energy deposition, the so-called Bragg-peak, is located inside the tumor and not in the healthy surrounding tissue. Here, we investigate if the iono-acoustic wave field generated by the protons...

Modeling breast ultrasound; on the applicability of commonly made approximations

To design breast ultrasound scanning systems or to test new imaging methods, various computer models are used to simulate the acoustic wave field propagation through a breast. The computer models vary in complexity depending on the applied approximations. The objective of this paper is to investigate how the applied approximations affect the...

USCT data challenge

In the past years we have perceived within the USCT research community a demand for freely available USCT data sets. Inspired by the idea of Open Science, this collection of data sets could stimulate the collaboration and the exchange of ideas and experiences between USCT researchers. In addition, it may lead to comprehensive comparison of...

Can sources and receivers be interchanged for imaging?

The design of ultrasound scanning systems for applications such as breast cancer detection is a challenging task, especially when the number of sources and receivers increases and they become spread over a large surface. In order to determine the number of transducers and above all their position, several approaches could be followed. A simple...

A novel ultrasound technique for detection of osteochondral defects in the ankle joint: A parametric and feasibility study

(Osteo)chondral defects (OCDs) in the ankle are currently diagnosed with modalities that are not convenient to use in long-term follow-ups. Ultrasound (US) imaging, which is a cost-effective and non-invasive alternative, has limited ability to discriminate OCDs. We aim to develop a new diagnostic technique based on US wave propagation through...

Comparing different ultrasound imaging methods for breast cancer detection

Ultrasound is frequently used to evaluate suspicious masses in breasts. These evaluations could be improved by taking advantage of advanced imaging algorithms, which become feasible for low frequencies if accurate knowledge about the phase and amplitude of the wave field illuminating the volume of interest is available. In this study, we compare...

Computation of nonlinear ultrasound fields using a linearized contrast source method

Nonlinear ultrasound is important in medical diagnostics because imaging of the higher harmonics improves resolution and reduces scattering artifacts. Second harmonic imaging is currently standard, and higher harmonic imaging is under investigation. The efficient development of novel imaging modalities and equipment requires accurate simulations...

Quantitative ultrasound tomography

Tomogrophic ultrasound imaging is gaining popularity in breast cancer detection. Reconstructing the acoustic properties of a breast from the ultrasound measurements is stated as a nonlinear inverse problem, which is usually solved by linearized methods because of computational efficiency. However, linearization of the problem reduces the quality...

A contrast source inversion method for breast cancer detection

Tomogrophic ultrasound imaging is gaining popularity in breast cancer detection. Reconstructing the acoustic properties of a breast from the ultrasound measurements is stated as a nonlinear inverse problem, which is usually solved by linearized methods because of computational efficiency. However, linearization of the problem reduces the quality...

Extension of Marcatili’s analytical approach for rectangular silicon optical waveguides

Marcatili's famous approximate analytical description of light propagating through rectangular dielectric waveguides, published in 1969, gives accurate results for low-index-contrast waveguides. However, photonic integrated circuit technology has advanced to high-index-contrast (HIC) waveguides. In this paper, we improve Marcatili's model by...

Linearization strategies for the Iterative Nonlinear Contrast Source method for full-wave simulation of nonlinear ultrasound fields

The Iterative Nonlinear Contrast Source (INCS) method is a full-wave method for the accurate computation of wide-angle, pulsed, nonlinear ultrasound fields appearing in, e.g., medical echoscopy. The method is based on the Westervelt equation and considers the occurring nonlinear term as a distributed contrast source that operates in a linear...

Characterization of a photonic strain sensor in silicon-on-insulator technology

Recently there has been growing interest in sensing by means of optical microring resonators in photonic integrated circuits that are fabricated in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. Taillaert et al. [Proc. SPIE6619, 661914 (2007)PSISDG0277-786X10.1117/12.738412] proposed the use of a silicon-waveguide-based ring resonator as a strain gauge....

A contrast source method for nonlinear acoustic wave fields in media with spatially inhomogeneous attenuation

Experimental data reveals that attenuation is an important phenomenon in medical ultrasound. Attenuation is particularly important for medical applications based on nonlinear acoustics, since higher harmonics experience higher attenuation than the fundamental. Here, a method is presented to accurately solve the wave equation for nonlinear...

Modeling nonlinear acoustic waves in media with inhomogeneities in the coefficient of nonlinearity

The refraction and scattering of nonlinear acoustic waves play an important role in the realistic application of medical ultrasound. One cause of these effects is the tissue dependence of the nonlinear medium behavior. A method that is able to model those effects is essential for the design of transducers for novel ultrasound modalities....

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A directional borehole radar system for subsurface imaging