Noise robust two-dimensional blind deconvolution of ultrasound images

Abstract

This paper presents a new method for two-dimensional blind homomorphic deconvolution of medical B-scan ultrasound images. The method is based on noise robust two-dimensional phase unwrapping and a noise robust procedure to obtain the pulse in the complex cepstrum domain. Ordinary Wiener filtering is used in the subsequent deconvolution. The resulting images became much sharper, with better defined tissue structures compared to the ordinary images. The deconvolved images had a resolution gain in the order of 3 to 6, and the signal to noise ratio doubled for many of these images. The method gave stable results through several image sequences. It can be implemented in real time.