Webinar 25th September: Prof. Matthew O’Donnell: Coordinate-Independent 3-D Ultrasound Principal Stretch and Direction Estimation for Cardiac Strain Imaging

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We are thrilled to announce the September webinar session for the UK & Ireland Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control chapter. This event is a fantastic opportunity to share knowledge, foster collaboration, and build a strong community. 

 

Coordinate-Independent 3-D Ultrasound Principal Stretch and Direction Estimation for Cardiac Strain Imaging

Prof. Matthew O’Donnell, Professor of Bioengineering, University of Washington

In clinical ultrasound, current 2-D strain imaging cannot fully present three orthogonal normal strain components. Most systems also lack shear strain information, as displaying all strain components is hard to interpret. Here we propose 3-D, high-spatial-resolution, coordinate-independent strain imaging based on principal stretch and axis estimation. All components are transformed into three principal stretches along three normal principal axes, enabling direct visualization of the primary deformation. 

 

To estimate principal stretches and axes relatively independent of the ultrasound view, we devised an efficient 3-D speckle tracking method with tilt filtering, incorporating randomized searching in a two-pass tracking framework and rotating the phase of the 3-D correlation function for robust filtering. This approach significantly improves estimates of axial displacement gradients. Non-axial gradients are estimated by a correlation-weighted least-squares fit constrained by tissue incompressibility. 

 

Simulated and in vivo canine cardiac datasets were evaluated to estimate Lagrangian strains from end-diastole to end-systole. The proposed speckle tracking method improves displacement estimation by a factor of 4.3 to 10.5 over conventional 1-pass processing. Maximum principal axis/direction imaging enables better detection of local disease regions than conventional strain imaging, as illustrated below.

Figure: Ultrasound 3-D cardiac strain imaging using novel principal directions provides more robust, high-resolution detection of ischemic regions than traditional radial strain imaging.  

 

In summary, we have developed a coordinate-independent tracking procedure that can identify myocardial abnormalities with high accuracy and enhance robustness in cardiac strain imaging.

 

We encourage you to distribute this event to your own networks to maximize participation and engagement.

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you at the webinar!

On behalf of the UK & Ireland Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Chapter:

Katy Tant (Chair)

Andrew Feeney (Vice-Chair)

Koko- Lam (Secretary)

Andrew Reid (Treasurer)

Weihuan Kong (Events)

Alicia Gardiner (Publicity)

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