1.

1 Research Background
1.1.1 Traditional Ultrasound Imaging
Ultrasound (ultrasound) is a high-frequency mechanical wave. The vibration frequency of
the sound source is greater than 20KHz, which exceeds the upper limit of human hearing [1].
The frequency range of ultrasound used for medical imaging is generally 1-10MHz. Ultrasound
has the characteristics of high frequency, short wavelength, strong directivity, and small harm.
As four major medical imaging technologies, ultrasound has the advantages of no harm, no
radiation, and good real-time performance compared with the other three common imaging
modes, CT, magnetic resonance (MRI), and nuclear medicine imaging (PET, SPECT). It is
widely used clinically [2].
Traditional medical ultrasound imaging is based on pulse-echo technology. The idea was
first proposed by Richardson in 1912 [3] and has been verified in water depth detection. Later
research found that ultrasound tissue can be used to scan human tissues, and different organs and
tissues have specific acoustic characteristics. Due to the different acoustic characteristics, sound
waves are reflected and scattered at different levels on the interface. By receiving and processing
the echo signal reflected or scattered to the transducer, an image or waveform can be obtained
[4]. The intensity of the reflected and scattered signals is determined by the intensity of the
incident signal and the acoustic impedance between different tissues. In 1942, Dussik and
Firestone first applied ultrasound to medical imaging to diagnose brain diseases. This was the
earliest type A ultrasound imaging technology. In 1952, Howry and Wild used B-mode
ultrasound for biological tissue imaging, which was a milestone in the clinical application of
ultrasound [5-6]. Since then, with the improvement of the manufacturing process of piezoelectric
materials and ultrasound probes, the detection and application of ultrasound in medical imaging
have been further developed.
A typical B-mode (brightness mode) imaging process is shown in Figure 1.1. The
ultrasonic transducer uses the inverse piezoelectric effect to convert electrical signals into
acoustic signals and emit ultrasonic waves. In the propagation path, the acoustic impedance is
different from that of the surrounding tissue. At the target, backscatter occurs at the interface,
and the transducer receives these scattered signals and converts them into electrical signals. The
received signal also needs to undergo processing such as amplification, filtering, and focusing
before image reconstruction. The signal received by the transducer is very weak, usually at the
millivolt level, so the signal needs to be amplified first. Filtering is to keep signals near the
center frequency and remove interference signals such as noise. Focusing is to calculate the time
difference caused by the difference between the distances of different array elements from the
focus, and to delay the signal in time to align the received signals at the focus. The aligned
channel data is weighted or apodized, added and summed to obtain the amplitude line. amplitude
line, A-line). The amplitude line is processed by envelope detection to obtain a scan-line in the
image. A series of scan lines can provide two-dimensional cross-section information of the target
and be displayed on the computer screen Display as image. The propagation time of the sound
wave is multiplied by the sound velocity of the medium, and the distance of the sound wave
propagation can be obtained, that is, the position of the reflected wave on the image. In common
ultrasound equipment, the sound velocity of soft tissue is generally set to a constant 1540m / s.
The corresponding gray value of the reflected wave on the image is determined by the amplitude
of the echo.

Beamforming plays a key role in the imaging quality of ultrasound systems. By

controlling the beam direction of the transducer array, a specific sound field distribution is
generated for the imaging target area. The system module that implements this signal processing
process is called a beamformer. The beamformer can calculate the delay and weight of each
element in the transmitting or receiving process, so that the beam has the characteristics of low
side lobes and narrow main lobe. Dynamic focusing and dynamic aperture have been commonly
used in commercial ultrasound systems to obtain high-quality images. Dynamic focusing refers
to focusing on each imaging point when transmitting or receiving, ensuring that all imaging
points are in focus, and the ultrasound beam has a good focusing effect over the entire depth of
detection. Because ultrasonic transmission can only focus on one point at a time, multiple
transmission focusing will significantly reduce the frame rate, so usually only a few focusing
points are set on a scanning line for segmented focusing, and the receiving end is set to dynamic
focusing. Dynamic aperture means that the size of the receiving array element changes with the
imaging depth. The smaller aperture data is used in the near field and the larger aperture data is
used in the far field to ensure the uniformity of the echo signal in the near and far fields. And
improve image quality.
Because the energy of ultrasonic waves will gradually decay with the increase of depth, time
gain compensation is usually used to ensure that the near and far field echo intensity is
consistent. In actual use, time gain compensation often has large differences due to different
acoustic impedance of the imaging object, and parameters need to be adjusted according to the
specific object.
1.1.2 Ultrasound tomography
In Ultrasound computed tomography (USCT), the word tomography comes from the
Greek tomos and graphia. The former tomos means "slice" and the latter graphia means
"description". It was first used in scientific literature in the 1870s [7-8]. It is different from
traditional B-mode imaging. B-mode imaging uses reflected signals received by a linear or
convex array probe for imaging. The reconstructed image plane is perpendicular to the coronary
surface of the patient. This method depends on the operator's experience and cannot image the
entire imaging object. The ultrasonic tomography uses a circular array, which can not only
receive reflected signals, but also receive scattered signals at the same time. The ring-shaped
design allows it to simultaneously process global information from multiple positions and at full
angles, as well as correct the refracted and attenuated received signals.

Ultrasound tomography can scan the imaging object, and finally reconstruct a series of
coaxial two-dimensional images to obtain three-dimensional images. Most of the probes used in
ultrasound tomography use a ring or a ring-like shape. This type of probe can receive both
reflected and transmitted signals. The reflection signal refers to the signal received by the array
element adjacent to the transmission array element, and the transmission signal refers to the
signal received by the array element opposite to the transmission array element, as shown in
Figure 1.2. There are two imaging methods for ultrasound tomography, reflection imaging and
transmission imaging, where transmission imaging includes sound velocity imaging and
attenuation imaging.
The reflection imaging method of ultrasound tomography is similar to the traditional B-
ultrasound. The reflection signal generated when the ultrasound propagates to the tissue is used
to characterize the boundary. After the reflection signal is filtered, focused, and time-delayed, the
beam synthesis method is processed and finally obtained. Reflection image. The transmission
imaging method has a similar data acquisition process as the CT imaging that generates X-rays,
but the imaging principles are not exactly the same. CT scans the imaging object by emitting
multiple sets of parallel or fan-shaped X-rays. The X-ray path can be approximated as a straight
line, and algorithms such as filtered back projection are used to reconstruct the image. The path
of the ultrasonic wave generated in ultrasonic tomography is not a straight line, but reflection,
refraction, and scattering. Therefore, transmission imaging usually uses ultrasound transmission
signals for sound velocity or attenuation imaging [9]. The imaging methods of sound velocity
imaging and attenuation imaging are similar. There are two types of methods: waveform-based
and ray-tracing. The former is slower in calculation, but the imaging quality is better. The latter
is much faster than the former, but the image quality is worse than the former. [10-12].

1.1.3 Breast Cancer Related Background

Breast cancer is a major disease that threatens the lives and quality of life of women
worldwide. Every year, more than 1.15 million women worldwide develop breast cancer,
accounting for about a quarter of all women's cancer incidence, and more than 500,000 women
die of breast cancer [13]. According to the survey report, the incidence of breast cancer in China
ranks second in the incidence of cancer among women, second only to lung cancer, and the
mortality rate ranks sixth. The incidence of breast cancer in China has also shown a clear upward
trend. In the past 30 years, the proportion of breast cancer has risen as high as 96%, and it has
entered a period of rapid growth of 2% -3% per year. It is getting younger and younger, and its
prevention and treatment cannot be ignored. Breast cancer has become a global health problem.
Early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer can greatly improve survival. In breast cancer
stage 0 (initial stage), if it can be detected and treated, the 10-year survival rate of patients can
reach 98%, but by stage 4, the 5-year survival rate of patients is only 22%. It can be seen that the
early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer is of great significance. In the United States, the
annual cost of breast diagnosis is about $ 750 million, and the cost of a census is about $ 1.2
billion. Randomized clinical surveys in the United States and the United Kingdom have shown
that women aged 50 to 69 years can have breast cancer mortality reduced by 25% to 35% when
they are examined annually or every two years [14].
The most common imaging method for breast cancer screening is mammography. X-ray
photography plays an important role in the detection of breast cancer. A Norwegian statistic [15]
shows that for women aged 50-69 years, radiography helps reduce mortality by 2.4 people per
year for every 100,000 people. But recently there are also studies on radiography The validity of
the method was questioned [16-17], and the contribution of X-ray photography to reducing the
absolute mortality of breast cancer was only 0.05%. If the harm of X-ray radiation to the human
body and its missed diagnosis rate of about 10%, 7% were considered The misdiagnosis rate
cannot prove that X-ray photography has more advantages than disadvantages in detecting breast
cancer. For young and middle-aged women under 50 years of age, there is more evidence that
regular radiography is more harmful than beneficial [18]. In the UK, mammography is
recommended for women aged 50 to 70 years [19].

In China, X-ray photography for breast cancer screening is not as popular as in Western
countries. The main reason is that East Asian women generally have relatively small high-
density breast soft tissues, and X-ray photography needs to squeeze the breast to form a
projection image. Sensitivity to high-density breast soft tissue is only 50-68%, while for high-
density breast soft tissue lesions, X-ray sensitivity will decrease to 45% [20], and it will also
appear in 50% in distinguishing benign and malignant tumors. False negative conclusion.
Routine ultrasound examination is convenient, easy, painless, radiation-free, and low-cost, and
can quickly obtain the results. Studies have shown that combined ultrasound and X-ray
examination can increase the accuracy of breast cancer diagnosis [21-22]. For breast examination
in adolescents, pregnant and lactating women, ultrasound is the imaging method of choice.
However, the quality of conventional ultrasound images is poor, and the false detection rate is
high [23]. The examination process depends on the experience of the doctor, and the
repeatability is poor. At present, ultrasound is mainly used as an auxiliary method in the
diagnosis of breast cancer.
Other imaging methods that can be used for breast cancer examinations include CT and magnetic
resonance imaging, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. CT also produces X-rays,
with a potential risk of excessive radioactivity, and is not useful for distinguishing soft tissues
Sensitive, less used for breast examinations. Magnetic resonance imaging is radiation-free, but
because its examination takes a long time, the testing costs and equipment are expensive, it is
mainly used for further examination of women at high risk for breast cancer, and is not suitable
for routine screening. In addition, breast cancer diagnosis and treatment guidelines and
specifications issued by the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association clearly indicate that near-infrared
scanning, nuclide scanning, and catheter lavage are not supported as screening methods for
breast cancer [24].
In recent years, ultrasound tomography for the early detection of breast cancer has
gradually become a research hotspot [25]. In addition to the advantages of traditional B-mode
ultrasound, for dense breast tissue, ultrasound tomography can find small tumors that cannot be
detected by X-ray photography, and also has a good ability to distinguish malignant tumors from
benign tumors [13]. Correctly identifying the type of tumor can significantly reduce the large
number of biopsy biopsies in current medical clinics, reduce the pain of patients, and reduce the
cost of diagnosis. At the same time, ultrasound tomography can also perform a section scan of
the entire breast to reconstruct a three-dimensional breast image.

1.2 Research level and status at home and abroad

Relevant research on ultrasound tomography can be traced back to the 1950s [26-27]. In
the 1970s, many scholars carried out research on ultrasound tomography. Norton proposed the
principle of reflection imaging of the USCT [28], and Greenleaf determined that the
measurement of transmitted ultrasound sound fields can be used to describe the characteristics of
breast tissue. The use of sound velocity and attenuation has been proposed to distinguish benign
and malignant tumors in vitro [29-30]. Glover and Sharp reported two-dimensional sound
velocity USCT image reconstruction of simple phantoms, bovine liver, and human breasts,
showing the potential of USCT for soft tissue imaging [31]. In 1978, Kak and Dines introduced
various methods for measuring sound attenuation in imaging transmission modes [32]. The
development of early ultrasound tomography is mainly limited by the performance of the probe
and computer, and the reconstructed image is not ideal. Therefore, many related research works
have been carried out theoretically [33]. In recent years, with the development of probe
materials, processing and computer technology, ultrasound tomography has made great progress.
Some research groups develop prototypes of breast imaging based on the principles of the USCT
machine. The Carson team at the University of Michigan [34], and Liu and Wang [35] at the
University of Rochester conducted research and clinical trials, respectively. The Marmarelis
team at the University of Southern California [36] developed a system for breast scanning using
an ultrasound array placed horizontally, named High Resolution Ultrasonic Transmission
Tomography (HUTT). Unlike traditional ultrasound, the image obtained by HUTT is a
frequency-dependent attenuation curve. Johnson team of TechniScan medical system [37]
developed an experimental device similar to HUTT, working at a center frequency of 8MHz for
high-resolution imaging. The system can detect spherical objects with a diameter less than
0.3mm, so it has the ability to obtain images of breast lesions . Krzysztof et al. [38] designed a
Multi-parameter Ultrasound Transmission Tomography (MUTT) system. Ultrasound
tomography system developed by DRAMINSKI S.A. of Olsztyn, Poland [39], which contains
1024 array elements, a probe diameter of 260mm, a center frequency of 2MHz, and an array
element size of 0.5 * 18mm, which can scan 100 to 200 in the coronal plane Sections, each
section requires a scan time of 6.5 seconds. The ultrasonic tomography system developed by
Takashi Azuma of the University of Tokyo uses a circular probe containing 2048 array elements
to transmit and receive signals with a probe diameter of 200mm. Clinical trials are currently
underway [40-42]. The measurement modes of the systems developed by these groups are very
similar. During the measurement, the patient lies prone on the experimental platform, as shown
in Figure 1.3. The breast is suspended in the sink under the table through the hole on the
platform, and the ultrasound probe is immersed in the sink. Located at the center of the probe for
easy scanning, the water tank provides coupling between sound waves and tissue.

At present, the most influential ultrasound CT system in the world is the SoftVue system
developed by the team of Professor Neb Duric of Karmanos Cancer Institute (KCI) of Wayne
State University [43-49]. As shown in Figure 1.4, this system uses a circular array probe to
transmit and receive signals. When the ultrasonic signal is transmitted, it can pass through the
breast to the other side of the circular array, so it can receive reflected and transmitted ultrasonic
signals at the same time. The circular array probe contains 2048 array elements, which can be
moved up and down to obtain data on various sections of the breast, and finally a three-
dimensional image is reconstructed [50]. Generally, there are 30 to 40 tomographic slices per
patient, the resolution of the reflection image is 0.7mm, and it takes 15 seconds to scan each slice
[51]. Nicole Ruiter, Data Processing and Electronics Center, Karlsruhe institute of technology
(KIT), Germany The USCT (UltraSound Computed Tomography) system developed by
Professor [52-55] uses a semi-ellipsoidal probe. As shown in Figure 1.5, 628 transmitting
elements and 1413 receiving elements are distributed inside the semi-ellipsoid. The spherical
probe can also be rotated and translated in the Z direction to collect data at different positions,
and the collected data can be directly reconstructed into a three-dimensional image. In addition,
Professor Andre's team at the University of California, San Diego developed the CVUS
(Computer volumetric ultrasound) system [56-58]. The probe of the system includes a
transmitting module, a receiving module, and three reflecting modules, with a total of 1536 array
elements, as shown in the figure. As shown in 1.6. The transmitting module is used to transmit
ultrasonic signals. The receiving module is opposite to the transmitting module and used to
receive transmitted signals. The three reflection modules on the side are used to receive reflected
signals. After the transmitting module transmits a signal once, other modules perform Data
acquisition, and then the probe needs to be rotated 2 degrees to retransmit the signal and collect
data. A total of 360 degrees of rotation are required to obtain all reflection data and transmission
data for the entire section, and use these data for reflection imaging and transmission imaging
[59-61].

In China, USCT related research mainly focuses on imaging algorithms [62-65] and
industrial detection [66-69], and the development of a complete ultrasound CT imaging system
for clinical use is currently only developed by the team of Professor Ding Mingyue of Huazhong
University of Science and Technology. USCT imaging system [70]. As shown in Figure 1.7, the
probe has a total of 1024 array elements. Each array element transmits signals in sequence, all
array elements receive signals at the same time, and finally all the collected data is processed for
imaging. The system is currently in the verification phase.

1.3 Research significance and main content of this thesis

Because USCT can provide high-resolution, high-contrast, low-noise mammograms, it
has great potential for screening and early detection of breast cancer. The quality of the structure
image is affected by the quality of the probe, the accuracy and noise immunity of the hardware
system, and the image reconstruction algorithm [71-72]. The USCT structure image
reconstruction algorithm includes filtering, gain compensation, beamforming, envelope
detection, log compression, gray mapping, and 3D reconstruction. In these steps, beamforming
plays a key role and is the core of the front-end signal processing of the ultrasound imaging
system [73-74]. This paper focuses on the USCT's reflection imaging algorithm, which
reconstructs ultrasound structural images based on delay-and-sum (DAS) beamforming
technology. Ultrasound has the characteristic of directional beam propagation. In addition to the
reflected signals received by the ultrasonic transducer from the on-axis target, there are also
scattered signals from the off-axis direction. These off-axis signals will widen the main lobe
width and side lobe levels that form the beam, reducing the spatial resolution and contrast of the
ultrasound image. The method of DAS beamforming can align the phase of the reflected signal
of the axial target, but the phase of the signal off-axis cannot be aligned. When superimposed,
the reflected signals of the axial target are caused to be in phase and phase, while the signals off-
axis are cancelled out of phase. Therefore, how to effectively reduce the interference of off-axis
signals is one of the key issues that must be solved for beamforming. However, the current DAS
beamforming method is a non-adaptive beamforming method, and the weight of the received
signal of each channel It is a preset fixed value, and the suppression effect on the side lobe is
limited. Based on DAS beamforming method, this paper uses Variational Mode Decomposition
(VMD) coherent factor-based adaptive beamforming method, minimum variance adaptive
beamforming method and multi-beam synthesis technology to reconstruct USCT image And
analyze the advantages and disadvantages of these methods to get the best image quality.

Coherence factor-based adaptive beamforming technology is one of the research contents

of this paper [75-81]. By analyzing the correlation between the probe aperture data to design a
weighting factor, it can form a narrower main lobe width and lower in the imaging area. High-
quality beams at the side lobe level, while enhancing resolution and contrast. Coherent factor
imaging methods have low computational complexity and are easy to implement on a system.
However, in the study of coherent factor methods, it was found that such methods will reduce the
average brightness of the image, increase the speckle variance, black hole artifacts around the
hyperechoic reflector, and darken the far-field image, which is not conducive to clinical
application. The space-time smoothing technique is used to modify coherent factor methods,
which can better solve these problems [82-83]. In order to further improve the image quality, this
paper introduces the variational modal decomposition method, which performs modal
decomposition on the echo data, removes the noisy modals, recombines the remaining modal
data, and finally uses the processed new The data were subjected to image reconstruction. VMD
data. The processing method can better retain useful information, remove clutter, and obtain
better imaging results.
The method of minimum variance (MV) beamforming is the most classic adaptive method, and it
is one of the commonly used methods to improve the resolution of the reconstructed image.
Unlike the coherence factor method, which analyzes the coherence between the probe aperture
data, the MV derives the optimal weight vector by calculating the minimum variance of the
beamformer output. This method can improve the resolution and contrast, and reduce the side
lobe level. In order to improve the resolution of the image, this method is first applied to USCT
image reconstruction, and the results of MV beamforming reconstruction are analyzed.

Multi-beam synthesis refers to the technology of forming multiple received sound beams
from a received signal after transmitting an ultrasonic pulse. Multi-beam synthesis technology
uses multi-line reception of the transmit beam to generate an image with an extended focus
range. This method can effectively reduce speckle noise in the image and improve the signal-to-
noise ratio. This paper uses this technique for USCT imaging, and makes a theoretical analysis of
how to choose the beam deflection angle on a circular array. Selecting a suitable beam deflection
angle can effectively reduce the main lobe width, suppress the grating lobe, and obtain better
imaging results. The structure of this paper is as follows:
Chapter One Introduction. First introduce the traditional ultrasound imaging process and
ultrasound tomography process; second, introduce the background of breast cancer, the
advantages of ultrasound tomography for the early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer; then
introduce the current research level and status at home and abroad; finally It explains the
research significance and content arrangement of this thesis.
Chapter 2 ultrasound tomosynthesis imaging. This chapter first introduces the time-delay
superposition method and some methods commonly used in traditional ultrasound imaging to
improve the contrast and resolution of the image, including receiving data using a dynamic
aperture.

The time gain compensation method is used to increase the ultrasonic echo intensity in the far-
field region and the apodization weighting method is used to weight the transmit and receive
channels. Subsequently, the related information of the ultrasonic tomographic ring array is
introduced. Then the reflection data acquisition and processing methods and The reflection
reconstruction algorithm performs reflection reconstruction on the collected data and analyzes
the reconstruction effect. Finally, this chapter summarizes this chapter.

Chapter 3 Coherent factor-based adaptive ultrasound tomography. This chapter first introduces
the definition of coherent factor classes. Second, it applies coherent factor classes to the
reconstruction of USCT reflection images. Through the collected body film and experimental
data from volunteers, it verifies that the coherent factor classes are in resolution, sidelobe level,
and noise. Suppression, contrast, and other imaging effects, and pointed out the problems of the
method and discussed the balance between the sensitivity and robustness of the method by
adjusting the parameter range of the method; Perform space-time smoothing to further improve
the quality of the image; then, this paper also points out that the use of coherent factor methods
still has the problem of high speckle noise level. To solve this problem, a VMD algorithm is used
to perform modal decomposition of the data. The decomposed data is recombined and combined
with coherence factor imaging. It can be seen through experiments that this method has a good
effect on improving contrast and suppressing noise; finally, this chapter summarizes it.

Chapter 4 is the method of minimum variance adaptive ultrasound tomography. This chapter first
introduces the definition of the MV beamforming method. Second, it applies the MV
beamforming method to reflection reconstruction. The experimental data of the body film
verifies the application of the MV adaptive beamforming method in resolution, sidelobe level,
noise suppression, Contrast and other aspects of imaging effects, also pointed out the problems
of the method and discussed the balance between the sensitivity and robustness of the method by
adjusting the parameter range of the method; finally, this chapter summarizes .

Chapter 5: Filtering and multi-beam synthesis for ultrasound tomography. This chapter first
introduces the method of spatial filtering of image data after reflection reconstruction. Filtering
can effectively reduce the large variance of the background caused by speckle fluctuations and
significantly improve the contrast. Secondly, the principle of multi-beam synthesis and its use in
ultrasound are introduced. In tomography, choosing the proper beam deflection angle can
effectively suppress speckle noise and clutter, and at the same time remove artifacts. The
imaging results have been verified through body film experiments, human upper arm, calf, and
breast experiments; the chapter concludes with this chapter.

Chapter 6 summarizes and looks forward. The main research contents of this paper are reviewed,
the research ideas are listed, the main innovation points are pointed out, the advantages and
disadvantages of the proposed method are also discussed, and the outlook for future work is
given.