Speckle tracking in high frequency ultrasound images with application to intravascular imaging

Speckle tracking calibration studies have been performed using a 42 MHz intravascular imaging probe in order to investigate the potential of correlation based speckle tracking techniques for detecting small differential displacements in intravascular ultrasound images. Serial images were acquired of a tissue phantom material subjected to incremental displacements produced by a two-axis motion stage. Tracking performance was best for displacements in the axial beam direction over the range of 0 to 200 μm and somewhat worse for lateral displacements. The tracking performance was also assessed in tissue-equivalent vessel phantom models deformed by incremental changes in intraluminal pressure. Differential displacements on the order of 30 μm were successfully measured in a two-component phantom with elastic moduli differing by a factor of three