APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR OPTIMIZED SEARCH FOR DISPLACEMENT ESTIMATION IN ELASTICITY IMAGING

摘要

A displacement estimation method is described that limits the exhaustive search for all points in a region of interest of a biological tissue by delivering the axial and lateral displacement maps in two phases. During the first phase, the method executes a limited search to determine axial and lateral displacement estimates for a plurality of locations on at least one axial reference line positioned in the ROI. Non-zero estimates form transition points along the axial reference line where one non-zero transition point value differs from another. During the second phase, the method laterally tracks each, transition point throughout the ROI using block-matching algorithms or correlation methods. The displacement estimations identify a trajectory of the transition point through the ROI and form a displacement map. The plurality of transition point displacement maps are assembled as a complete displacement map. The resultant displacement map is used to form a tissue strain display.