ULTRASOUND IMAGE COMPOUNDING: EFFECT ON PERCEIVED IMAGE QUALITY

In order to determine the effect of different image compounding functions on perceived image quality, 84 pairs of ultrasound images were collected, mixed, and reviewed by four independent observers who were asked to identify the highest quality image of each pair. Each image in a pair was made using the same orientation, transducer, frequency, and gain settings but different compounding settings. Outcomes were analyzed using logistic regression. Observers judged compound images to be better quality than noncompound images in 69% cases, the same quality in 24%, and poorer quality in 7%. Overall, compound images were considered significantly better quality than noncompound images (P < 0.001). Compound images were more likely to be considered better quality than the corresponding noncompound images when combined transmit/receive spatial compounding was used rather than receive-only spatial compounding or transmit compounding, and when the vector transducer or the curvilinear transducer were used rather than the linear transducer. Observers considered improved border definition and increased signal to noise ratio to be the properties that accounted most often for higher quality of compound images compared with noncompound images.