Novel ultrasonic imaging modality based on circular integral data

Abstract

Among all the existing imaging technologies, ultra-sound imaging is the most widely used, due to its safe, cost-effectiveness, flexible and real-time nature. However for some object configurations involving geometric restrictions, the usual point by point scanning to image an object is not performing efficiently. We propose a solution to this problem based on the use of circular integral data generated along a circular path to reconstruct the image of the object under investigation. Similar circular integral data has occurred in Thermo/Opto/Photo-acoustic tomography as well as in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging where circular integral data is generated along a straight line path to image a landscape on the ground. We present the mathematical background of this new imaging technique, which has an exact reconstruction formula and give comparative simulation results to demonstrate its viability.