AI and conventional methods for UCT projection data estimation

TL;DR

This paper develops a 2D ultrasound tomography system and compares conventional and AI-based signal processing methods, finding that Fourier transform offers the best signal recovery while neural networks minimize reconstruction error.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive comparison of conventional and AI methods for UCT data estimation, highlighting the effectiveness of Fourier transform and neural networks.

Findings

Fourier transform provides the best signal recovery.

Neural networks achieve the minimum reconstruction error.

Conventional methods outperform AI methods in some metrics.

Abstract

A 2D Compact ultrasound computerized tomography (UCT) system is developed. Fully automatic post processing tools involving signal and image processing are developed as well. Square of the amplitude values are used in transmission mode with natural 1.5 MHz frequency and rise time 10.4 ns and fall time 8.4 ns and duty cycle of 4.32%. Highest peak to corresponding trough values are considered as transmitting wave between transducers in direct line talk. Sensitivity analysis of methods to extract peak to corresponding trough per transducer are discussed in this paper. Total five methods are tested. These methods are taken from broad categories: (a) Conventional and (b) Artificial Intelligence (AI) based methods. Conventional methods, namely: (a) simple gradient based peak detection, (b) Fourier based, (c) wavelet transform are compared with AI based methods: (a) support vector machine (SVM), (b) artificial neural network (ANN). Classification step was performed as well to discard the signal which does not has contribution of transmission wave. It is found that conventional methods have better performance. Reconstruction error, accuracy, F-Score, recall, precision, specificity and MCC for 40 x 40 data 1600 data files are measured. Each data file contains 50,002 data point. Ten such data files are used for training the Neural Network. Each data file has 7/8 wave packets and each packet corresponds to one transmission amplitude data. Reconstruction error is found to be minimum for ANN method. Other performance indices show that FFT method is processing the UCT signal with best recovery.