Wavelet-transform-based active imaging of cavitation bubbles in tissues induced by high intensity focused ultrasound

Cavitation detection and imaging are essential for monitoring high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapies. In this paper, an active cavitation imaging method based on wavelet transform is proposed to enhance the contrast between the cavitation bubbles and surrounding tissues. The Yang-Church model, which is a combination of the Keller-Miksis equation with the Kelvin-Voigt equation for the pulsations of gas bubbles in simple linear viscoelastic solids, is utilized to construct the bubble wavelet. Experiments with porcine muscles demonstrate that image quality is associated with the initial radius of the bubble wavelet and the scale. Moreover, the Yang-Church model achieves a somewhat better performance compared with the Rayleigh-Plesset-Noltingk-Neppiras-Poritsky model. Furthermore, the pulse inversion (PI) technique is combined with bubble wavelet transform to achieve further improvement. The cavitation-to-tissue ratio (CTR) of the best tissue bubble wavelet transform (TBWT) mode image is improved by 5.1 dB compared with that of the B-mode image, while the CTR of the best PI-based TBWT mode image is improved by 7.9 dB compared with that of the PI-based B-mode image. This work will be useful for better monitoring of cavitation in HIFU-induced therapies. (C) 2016 Acoustical Society of America.