Three-dimensional reconstruction of blood vessel network by weighted fusion between B-mode and Doppler-mode in ultrasound volumes

We have reconstructed the blood vessel network by three-dimensional analysis of ultrasound Doppler-mode volume. However, reconstructed Doppler-mode volume has expansion and deficiency problem. On the other hand, it is possible to image B-mode volume simultaneously in the same coordinate space while imaging Doppler-mode volume. Thus, we propose a new reconstruction method of blood vessel network by fusing B-mode volume and Doppler-mode volume. First we configured an artificial blood vessel with spiral shape to evaluate the degrees of expansion and deficiency in the original volumes quantitatively. From the analysis of the results, we have established the weight coefficients according to the angle between the centerline of the volume and the ultrasound beam. Finally using the coefficients we have reconstructed the shape of artificial blood vessel and human liver vessel. The results of the weighted fusion showed clear reproduction with reducing noisesT We confirmed that the proposed method was effective to reconstruct human blood vessels.