S. Meairs et al., Reconstruction and visualization of irregularly sampled three- and four-dimensional ultrasound data for cerebrovascular applications, ULTRASOUN M, 26(2), 2000, pp. 263-272
Although recent studies have demonstrated the potential value of compounded
data for improvement in signal-to-noise ratio and speckle contrast for thr
ee-dimensional (3-D) ultrasonography, clinical applications are lacking. We
investigated the potential of six degrees-of-freedom (6-DOF) scanhead posi
tion and orientation measurement (POM) devices for registration of in vivo
multiplanar, irregularly sampled ultrasound (US) images to a regular 3-D vo
lume space. The results demonstrate that accurate spatial and temporal regi
stration of four-dimensional (4-D) US data can be achieved using a 6-DOF sc
anhead tracking system. For reconstruction of arbitrary, irregularly sample
d US data, we introduce a technique based upon a weighted, ellipsoid Gaussi
an convolution kernel. Volume renderings of 3-D and 4-D compounded in vivo
US data are presented. The results, although restricted to the field of cer
ebrovascular disease, will be of value to other applications of 3-D sonogra
phy, particularly those in which compounding of data through irregular samp
ling may provide superior information on tissue or vessel structure. (C) 20
00 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.