High range resolution ultrasound imaging of a human carotid artery using frequency domain interferometry

In this study, we propose a high range resolution ultrasound imaging method using frequency domain interferometry with adaptive beamforming technique. We employ multiple reference signals to compensate the variation of the vessel wall slope. The proposed method succeeded to acquire a high range resolution carotid artery image of a normal living human subject, where the method was applied to a single frame IQ data obtained by a commercial ultrasonographic device. This result verified the capability of the proposed method to improve the range resolution in ultrasonography. We believe the proposed method will largely progress medical diagnostics in vascular ultrasound.