Fast k-space-based evaluation of imaging properties of ultrasound apertures

At the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) a three-dimensional ultrasound computer tomography (3D USCT) system for early breast cancer diagnosis is being developed. This method promises reproducible volume images of the female breast in 3D. Initial measurements and a simulation based optimization method, which took several physical properties into account, led to a new aperture setup. Yet this simulation is computational too demanding to systematically evaluate the different 'virtual' apertures which can be achieved by rotation and lifting of the system. In optics a Fourier based approach is available to simulate imaging systems as linear systems. For the two apertures used in our project and one hypothetical linear array aperture this concept was evaluated and compared to a reference simulation. An acceptable conformity between the new approach and the reference simulation could be shown. With this approach a fast evaluation of optimal 'virtual' apertures for specific measurement objects and imaging constraints can be carried out within an acceptable time constraint.