A complex frequency approach towards pulse-echo attenuation estimation

This paper introduces a novel technique for substantially correcting the influence of interference effects on attenuation estimates from backscattered rf A-line data. The technique is grounded in the approach of regarding pulse-echo attenuation as a pulse estimation problem. The procedures operate via the manipulation of features (zeros) intimately associated with those interference effects which affect mean frequency, and attempt to reduce the influence of the `structure´ component of a signal segment. The algorithm operates in complex frequency space. Preliminary results from computer simulations are presented and a comparison is drawn with the mean frequency shift technique