Ultrafast Ultrasound

Ultrafast imaging allows the sonographer to reconstruct images from a single transmit beam due to high frame rates and multiline processing. Ultrafast imaging can exceed the maximum frame rates due to parallel multiline processing. This means that for each transmit beam many lines can be reproduced in parallel.

Conventional ultrasound reconstructs one image line at a time. Ultrafast ultrasound is able to compute in parallel as many lines as needed. One of the major differences between these two scanning techniques is Ultrafast imaging requires extremely high frame rates. This allows the images to have excellent resolution and much less aliasing. Ultrafast images also have a more homogeneous appearance due to the focalization of each pixel in the image.

Ultrafast is the first type of imaging that scans in the 3^rd dimension using shear wave elastography. Shear waves are a form of elastography that use higher Hertz and measure the speed of the propagation waves. Using this technology allows the sonographer to receive information on soft tissue stiffness and elasticity. The shear waves are able to receive physiopathological information by assessing tissue viscoelasticity.

Ultrafast imaging is beneficial in many different aspects of ultrasound, such as, general imaging, breast, abdomen, liver, vascular, pediatrics, prostate, gynecology, thyroid and musculoskeletal scans. Ultrafast ultrasound has better success in correctly identifying malignant lesions in the breast, and declassifying benign lesions. This helps reduce unnecessary biopsies.

List of keywords:

Ultrafast

Ultrasound

Conventional

Elastography