Abyss Processing -Exploring the Deep in Medical linages

摘要

Medical imaging is a non-invasive method for clinicians to understand what is happening deep inside our body. The most common medical imaging techniques include MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), CT (Computed Tomography), X-Ray, Ultrasound (US), Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), etc. One of the biggest advantages of OCT [1] and US [2] over the other techniques includes its cost effectiveness, reduced risk of exposure to radiation and its ability to study soft tissues.However, the image quality and interpretation of US and OCT images largely depend on various factors such as the skill of the person scanning, method of scanning, etc. A reduced image quality makes it hard for clinical diagnosis and reduces its clinicalrelevance. Over the recent years, the quality of OCT and US images have been significantly improved to visualize deep tissue structures without the need of surgical interventions. However, the quality of these images [3] is still largely hampered by thepresence of artifacts and by poor tissue visibility in deep layers. This is due to signal attenuation [4-5], whereby signal strength diminishes as a function of tissue depth [1] and presence of strongly attenuating and scattering structures such as blood vessels. These form a barrier to clinical relevance of OCT and US images and prevent the diagnosis and risk management of multiple pathologies.