Effects of Signal Saturation on QUS Parameter Estimates Based on High-Frequency-Ultrasound Signals Acquired From Isolated Cancerous Lymph Nodes

Choosing an appropriate dynamic range (DR) for acquiring radio frequency (RF) data from a high-frequency-ultrasound (HFU) system is challenging because signals can vary greatly in amplitude as a result of focusing and attenuation effects. In addition, quantitative ultrasound (QUS) results are altere...

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Published in:IEEE transactions on ultrasonics, ferroelectrics, and frequency control Vol. 64; no. 10; pp. 1501 - 1513
Main Authors: Tamura, Kazuki, Mamou, Jonathan, Coron, Alain, Yoshida, Kenji, Feleppa, Ernest J., Yamaguchi, Tadashi
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States IEEE 01.10.2017
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Subjects:
Acoustic noise
Acoustics
Algorithms
Bioengineering
Cancerous lymph nodes (LNs)
Computer Science
Computer Simulation
Data acquisition
Dynamic range
Electrostatic discharges
Estimates
Gastrointestinal Neoplasms - pathology
Gastrointestinal Neoplasms - surgery
high-frequency ultrasound (HFU)
Humans
Imaging
Life Sciences
LN metastases
Lymph
Lymph Node Excision
Lymph Nodes - diagnostic imaging
Lymph Nodes - surgery
Lymphatic Metastasis - diagnostic imaging
Lymphatic system
Medical Imaging
Phantoms, Imaging
quantitative ultrasound (QUS)
Radio frequency
RF signals
Saturation
Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted
signal saturation
Sound
Transducers
Ultrasonic imaging
Ultrasonography - methods
ISSN:0885-3010, 1525-8955, 1525-8955
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Choosing an appropriate dynamic range (DR) for acquiring radio frequency (RF) data from a high-frequency-ultrasound (HFU) system is challenging because signals can vary greatly in amplitude as a result of focusing and attenuation effects. In addition, quantitative ultrasound (QUS) results are altered by saturated data. In this paper, the effects of saturation on QUS estimates of effective scatterer diameter (ESD) and effective acoustic concentration (EAC) were quantified using simulated and experimental RF data. Experimental data were acquired from 69 dissected human lymph nodes using a single-element transducer with a 26-MHz center frequency. Artificially saturated signals (xc) were produced by thresholding the original unsaturated RF echo signals. Saturation severity was expressed using a quantity called saturate-signal-to-noise ratio (SSNR). Results indicated that saturation has little effect on ESD estimates. However, EAC estimates decreased significantly with decreasing SSNR. An EAC correction algorithm exploiting a linear relationship between EAC values over a range of SSNR values and l1-norm of xc (i.e., the sum of absolute values of the true RF echo signal) is developed. The maximal errors in EAC estimates resulting from saturation were -8.05, -3.59, and -0.93 dB/mm 3 with the RF echo signals thresholded to keep 5, 6, and 7-bit from the original 8-bit DR, respectively. The EAC correction algorithm reduced maximal errors to -3.71, -0.89, and -0.26 dB/mm 3 when signals were thresholded at 5, 6, and 7-bit, respectively.
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ISSN:0885-3010
1525-8955
1525-8955
DOI:10.1109/TUFFC.2017.2737360