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2024 Vol.43, Issue 6 Preview Page

Research Article

Improving lateral resolution in ultrasound imaging through structured illumination techniques

구조화 조명 기법을 통한 초음파 영상의 측면 해상도 향상

Hyunsu Choi1
,
Jaesok Yu23
,
Jihun Kim14*
최 현수1
,
유 재석23
,
김 지훈14*
1강남대학교 시스템및반도체융합공학과
2DGIST 로봇및기계전자공학과
3DGIST 인공지능전공
4강남대학교 ICT융합공학부 전자공학전공
*Corresponding Author
30 November 2024. pp. 663-670
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Abstract

Conventional ultrasound imaging is limited by the diffraction limit, which constrains its spatial resolution. Although Ultrasound Localization Microscopy (ULM) can overcome this diffraction limit to achieve super-resolution imaging through the use of contrast agents, it is primarily restricted to vascular imaging and requires the acquisition of tens of thousands of low-resolution images to generate a single high-resolution image. To address these challenges, we propose a novel ultrasound-based Structured Illumination Microscopy (uSIM) technique. This method improves lateral resolution as evidenced by both in-silico and in-vitro phantom experiments. Our results demonstrate that uSIM achieves superior spatial resolution without being confined to specific tissues, requiring only nine images to reconstruct high-resolution image. This proposed technique is expected to be applicable in various medical ultrasound diagnostic applications.

Keywords
Ultrasound imaging
Super-resolution imaging
Structured illumination microscopy
Resolution enhancement

기존의 초음파 이미징은 회절 한계로 인해 공간 분해능이 제한된다. 초음파 지역화 현미경(Ultrasound Localization Microscopy, ULM)은 조영제를 사용하여 이 회절 한계를 극복하고 초고해상도 이미징을 달성할 수 있으나, 주로 혈관 이미징에 제한되며 단일 고해상도 이미지를 생성하기 위해 수만 장의 저해상도 이미지를 획득해야 한다. 이러한 문제를 해결하기 위해, 본 연구는 새로운 초음파 기반 구조화 조명 현미경(ultrasound-based Structured Illumination Microscopy, uSIM) 기법을 제안한다. 본 논문에서 제안한 기법은 초음파 시뮬레이션 및 인체조직 모사 팬텀 실험에서 평가되었으며, 개선된 공간 분해능을 보여주었다. 실험 결과는 uSIM 기법이 특정 조직에 국한되지 않고 개선된 공간 분해능을 달성하며, 고해상도 이미지를 생성하는데 단 9장의 저해상도 영상만 필요함을 보여주었다. 본 기법은 다양한 의료용 초음파 진단 응용 분야에서 활용될 수 있을 것으로 기대한다.

키워드
초음파 이미징
초고해상도 이미징
구조화 조명 현미경
분해능 개선
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Information
  • Publisher :The Acoustical Society of Korea
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국음향학회
  • Journal Title :The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
  • Journal Title(Ko) :한국음향학회지
  • Volume : 43
  • No :6
  • Pages :663-670
  • Received Date : 2024-07-17
  • Accepted Date : 2024-10-04
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7776/ASK.2024.43.6.663
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