Fully Automatic Three-Dimensional Ultrasound Imaging Based on Conventional B-Scan

Qinghua Huang, Bowen Wu, Jiulong Lan, Xuelong Li

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

92 Scopus citations

Abstract

Robotic ultrasound systems have turned into clinical use over the past few decades, increasing precision and quality of medical operations. In this paper, we propose a fully automatic scanning system for three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound imaging. A depth camera was first used to obtain the depth data and color data of the tissue surface. Based on the depth image, the 3-D contour of the tissue was rendered and the scan path of ultrasound probe was automatically planned. Following the scan path, a 3-D translating device drove the probe to move on the tissue surface. Simultaneously, the B-scans and their positional information were recorded for subsequent volume reconstruction. In order to stop the scanning process when the pressure on the skin exceeded a preset threshold, two force sensors were attached to the front side of the probe for force measurement. In vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted for assessing the performance of the proposed system. Quantitative results show that the error of volume measurement was less than 1%, indicating that the system is capable of automatic ultrasound scanning and 3-D imaging. It is expected that the proposed system can be well used in clinical practices.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)426-436
Number of pages11
JournalIEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems
Volume12
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2018

Keywords

  • Automatic ultrasound scanning
  • depth imaging
  • robotic 3D ultrasound
  • scan path planning

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