Ultrasound imaging algorithm by combining eigenspace-based minimum variance beamforming and correlation coefficient eigenvalue weighting

To improve the ultrasonic image quality,in this paper,we propose an imaging algorithm by combining eigenspace-based minimum variance beamforming and correlation coefficient eigenvalues weighting.Due to the facts that the ultrasonic echo signals are relatively related,and that the proposed maximum eigenvalue of correlation coefficient space is capable of reflecting the related intensity,the adaptive weighting coefficients based on the eigenvalues are employed for the imaging of eigenspace-based minimum variance adaptive(EIBMV) beamforming,leading to high-quality imaging.The Field II simulation results of both point targets and cyst phantom in a speckle pattern demonstrate that by using our proposed algorithm the contrast of massive cyst was improved by 4.22 dB,and meanwhile the contrast of anechoic cyst was enhanced by 1.88 dB in comparison to EIBMV algorithm.Besides,the lateral resolution was also improved.