Fast and Accurate Plane Wave and Color Doppler Imaging with the FOCUS Software Package
A comprehensive framework for ultrasound imaging simulations is presented. Solutions to an inhomogeneous wave equation are provided, yielding a linear model for characterizing ultrasound propagation and scattering in soft tissue. This simulation approach, which is based upon the fast nearfield metho...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/4276 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849251836938158080 |
|---|---|
| author | Jacob S. Honer Robert J. McGough |
| author_facet | Jacob S. Honer Robert J. McGough |
| author_sort | Jacob S. Honer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A comprehensive framework for ultrasound imaging simulations is presented. Solutions to an inhomogeneous wave equation are provided, yielding a linear model for characterizing ultrasound propagation and scattering in soft tissue. This simulation approach, which is based upon the fast nearfield method, is implemented in the Fast Object-oriented C++ Ultrasound Simulator (FOCUS) and is extended to a range of imaging modalities, including synthetic aperture, B-mode, plane wave, and color Doppler imaging. The generation of radiofrequency (RF) data and the receive beamforming techniques employed for each imaging modality, along with background on color Doppler imaging, are described. Simulation results demonstrate rapid convergence and lower error rates compared to conventional spatial impulse response methods and Field II, resulting in substantial reductions in computation time. Notably, the framework effectively simulates hundreds of thousands of scatterers without the need for a full three-dimensional (3D) grid, and the inherent randomness in the scatterer distributions produces realistic speckle patterns. A plane wave imaging example, for instance, achieves high fidelity using 100,000 scatterers with five steering angles, and the simulation is completed on a personal computer in a few minutes. Furthermore, by modeling scatterers as moving particles, the simulation framework captures dynamic flow conditions in vascular phantoms for color Doppler imaging. These advances establish FOCUS as a robust, versatile tool for the rapid prototyping, validation, and optimization of both established and novel ultrasound imaging techniques. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1e5b290a9f034611b36dcf2c099b233d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj-art-1e5b290a9f034611b36dcf2c099b233d2025-08-20T03:56:47ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-07-012514427610.3390/s25144276Fast and Accurate Plane Wave and Color Doppler Imaging with the FOCUS Software PackageJacob S. Honer0Robert J. McGough1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USAA comprehensive framework for ultrasound imaging simulations is presented. Solutions to an inhomogeneous wave equation are provided, yielding a linear model for characterizing ultrasound propagation and scattering in soft tissue. This simulation approach, which is based upon the fast nearfield method, is implemented in the Fast Object-oriented C++ Ultrasound Simulator (FOCUS) and is extended to a range of imaging modalities, including synthetic aperture, B-mode, plane wave, and color Doppler imaging. The generation of radiofrequency (RF) data and the receive beamforming techniques employed for each imaging modality, along with background on color Doppler imaging, are described. Simulation results demonstrate rapid convergence and lower error rates compared to conventional spatial impulse response methods and Field II, resulting in substantial reductions in computation time. Notably, the framework effectively simulates hundreds of thousands of scatterers without the need for a full three-dimensional (3D) grid, and the inherent randomness in the scatterer distributions produces realistic speckle patterns. A plane wave imaging example, for instance, achieves high fidelity using 100,000 scatterers with five steering angles, and the simulation is completed on a personal computer in a few minutes. Furthermore, by modeling scatterers as moving particles, the simulation framework captures dynamic flow conditions in vascular phantoms for color Doppler imaging. These advances establish FOCUS as a robust, versatile tool for the rapid prototyping, validation, and optimization of both established and novel ultrasound imaging techniques.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/4276plane wave imagingcolor Doppler imagingB-mode imagingsynthetic aperture imagingbiomedical ultrasoundfast nearfield method (FNM) |
| spellingShingle | Jacob S. Honer Robert J. McGough Fast and Accurate Plane Wave and Color Doppler Imaging with the FOCUS Software Package Sensors plane wave imaging color Doppler imaging B-mode imaging synthetic aperture imaging biomedical ultrasound fast nearfield method (FNM) |
| title | Fast and Accurate Plane Wave and Color Doppler Imaging with the FOCUS Software Package |
| title_full | Fast and Accurate Plane Wave and Color Doppler Imaging with the FOCUS Software Package |
| title_fullStr | Fast and Accurate Plane Wave and Color Doppler Imaging with the FOCUS Software Package |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fast and Accurate Plane Wave and Color Doppler Imaging with the FOCUS Software Package |
| title_short | Fast and Accurate Plane Wave and Color Doppler Imaging with the FOCUS Software Package |
| title_sort | fast and accurate plane wave and color doppler imaging with the focus software package |
| topic | plane wave imaging color Doppler imaging B-mode imaging synthetic aperture imaging biomedical ultrasound fast nearfield method (FNM) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/4276 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jacobshoner fastandaccurateplanewaveandcolordopplerimagingwiththefocussoftwarepackage AT robertjmcgough fastandaccurateplanewaveandcolordopplerimagingwiththefocussoftwarepackage |