Comparison of the performance of different tools for fast simulation of ultrasound data

Simulation of ultrasound data is often performed for developing new ultrasound data processing techniques. The spatial impulse response method (as implemented in FieldII) has typically been used as the gold standard due to its excellent accuracy in the linear domain. When scatterer numbers become significant and when 3D volumetric data sets need to be computed, calculation times can become an issue. In order to solve this problem, two alternative methods have recently been proposed both of which are based on the principle of convolving a set of point scatterers with a point spread function. ldquoFUSKrdquo operates in the frequency domain while ldquoCOLErdquo runs in the spatio-temporal domain. The aim of this study was to compare both methodologies in terms of accuracy and processing speed using FieldII as a reference. Hereto, images were generated from identical scattering distributions using FieldII, COLE and FUSK and were compared in terms of their first and second order statistical properties. Moreover, computation times were recorded and contrasted.