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Breast cancer is a global health concern, emphasizing the need for early detection. However, current mammography struggles to effectively image dense breasts. Breast ultrasound can be an adjunctive method, but it is highly dependent on operator skill. Ultrasound computed tomography (USCT) reflection imaging provides high-quality 3D images, but often uses delay-and-sum (DAS) beamforming, which limits its image quality. This article proposes the integration of coherence-factor (CF) beamforming into ultrasound computed tomography (USCT) reflection imaging to enhance image quality. CF assesses the focus quality of beamforming by analyzing the signal coherence across different channels, assigning higher weights to high-quality focus points and thereby improving overall image quality. Numerical simulations and phantom experiments using our built USCT prototype were conducted to optimize the imaging parameters and assess and compare the image quality of CF and DAS beamforming. Numerical simulations demonstrated that CF beamforming can significantly enhance image quality. Phantom experiments with our prototype revealed that CF beamforming significantly improves image resolution (from 0.35 mm to 0.14 mm) and increases contrast ratio (from 24.54 dB to 63.28 dB). The integration of CF beamforming into USCT reflection imaging represents a substantial improvement in image quality, offering promise for enhanced breast cancer detection and imaging capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new implementation of a high-definition image-processing engine, which mainly targets the 3-dimensional (3D) visualization and stereo video stream display of binocular display equipment. The engine is compatible with the mainstream analog and digital stereo videos in component format and is able to receive stereo composite video broadcast signals using an integrated analog stereo video decoder. The four modules include a spatiotemporal scaling transform engine, a 2D-3D converter, an image animating engine, and a 2D scalar operating in pipeline architecture to implement the video format conversion and the stereo effect enhancement. Furthermore, the data access, hardware structure, and system-level configurations are optimized. Finally, the proposed architecture is realized by 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The application-specific integrated circuit verification results show that the engine can generate a strong feeling of 3D immersion and high-definition image quality with minimal flicker. The chip has wide compatibility and an uppermost 1080P-processing capacity, which has approximately 3.5 million gates with about 43 mm die size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]