Multimode Ultrasound Breast Imaging Using a New Array Transducer Configuration∗

This article presents a diagnostic ultrasound imaging technique that can be used in imaging protruding objects such as a human breast using two opposing array transducers. Because two B-mode images obtained from each of the two linear array transducers facing each other represent the same imaging area viewed in different directions, the image quality can be improved using a compounding technique. Using one array as a transmitter and the other as a receiver, the speed of sound distribution in a medium interposed between them is also reconstructed. In addition, because the spacing between the two arrays can be finely controlled, strain image can also be obtained. This new method can be used to produce a compound B-mode image, a speed of sound image, and a strain image of the same region-of-interest, making it possible to obtain more information leading to better diagnosis. Experimental results on a phantom containing a cylinder of different speed of sound and elasticity confirm that the proposed method is useful in obtaining compound and speed of sound images as well as strain images. (E-mail: sjkwon@daejin.ac.kr)