2-tier in-plane motion correction and out-of-plane motion filtering for contrast-enhanced ultrasound

摘要

ObjectivesContrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) cines of focal liver lesions (FLL) can be quantitatively analyzed to measure tumor perfusion on a pixel-by-pixel basis for diagnostic indication. However, CEUS cines acquired freehand and during free breathing cause non-uniform in-plane and out-of-plane motion from frame to frame. These motions create fluctuations in the time-intensity curves (TIC), reducing accuracy of quantitative measurements. Out-of-plane motion cannot be corrected by image registration in 2D CEUS and degrades the quality of in-plane motion correction (IPMC). A 2-tier IPMC strategy and adaptive out-of-plane motion filter (OPMF) are proposed to provide a stable correction of non-uniform motion to reduce the impact of motion on quantitative analyses.