Evaluating Image Quality Improvement in Multiparametric Ultrasound Imaging of Prostate Cancer by Combining ARFI, SWEI, B-mode, and QUS

This study demonstrates the application of multiparametric ultrasound (mpUS) imaging techniques for combining data from four individual modalities: acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging, shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI), B-mode imaging, and quantitative ultrasound-midband fit (QUS-MF). A linear transformation was used to generate the mpUS data volumes, with the linear coefficients determined using an optimization technique to maximize the contrast-to-noise ratio between prostate cancer and healthy tissue. The technique was evaluated in phantom data and an in vivo test dataset, where the mpUS volumes were demonstrated to have significantly higher CNR values compared to each of the individual modalities. These findings suggest that the mpUS imaging techniques described here can be used to increase lesion visibility and provide imaging guidance during a live targeted biopsy of the prostate.