Simulating dynamic B-mode ultrasound image data of the common carotid artery

Motion of the carotid artery wall from sequences of ultrasound images has been promising in providing useful indices characterizing elasticity of healthy and diseased arterial wall. The validation of motion analysis algorithms remains, however, a challenging task mainly because the actual tissue motion field is not readily available. In this paper, a methodology is suggested for the generation of simulated dynamic B-mode ultrasound image data of the common carotid artery. The approach consists of three main stages: (a) the generation of a scattering map using a real ultrasound image as a template, (b) the assumption of a mathematical model of arterial wall deformation in the radial and axial directions and (c) the generation of simulated sequential data by displacing the scattering map according to the deformation model. The procedure is based on the use of FIELD II, an ultrasound simulation package incorporating realistic transducer features. A total of 29 frames with a temporal separation of 0.04s were generated covering a cardiac cycle of approximately 1.16s duration. The simulation procedure is computationally expensive, but the resulting dynamic image data can be used efficiently in tasks involving evaluation of motion analysis algorithms.