Detection of point scatterers by regularized inversion of a linear ultrasound system model

Abstract

Scatterer detection in medical ultrasound imaging can be formulated as an inverse problem concerning a linear system model based on point scatterers. The applicability of different methods of regularized inversion is examined and a novel regularization scheme specifically adapted to ultrasound imaging is introduced. The results show that standard inversion methods fail in ultrasound imaging while the proposed new method is a feasible way to improve axial resolution without amplifying erroneous signal components. The consequences of A-line detection by regularized inversion for B-mode imaging are examined by numerical simulations.