The recent introduction of 2D array ultrasound transducers on the market will soon make instantaneous volumetric ultrasound acquisition available in the clinical practice. Moreover, the CMUT (Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasound Transducer) technology, which is currently in the phase of prototyping, will offer superior and efficient volumetric ultrasound imaging. But one drawback that remains is the limited field-of-view (FOV) of the acquired images. Toward this end, volume stitching, meaning the fusion of information from several acquisitions, may be an adequate technique to address this issue. Next to the extension of the FOV, this method also has the capability of improving the overall quality of the imaged scene by e.g. reducing occlusions. A first step to make the stitching possible is the correct alignment of the volumes, which we focused on in our work.     «

The recent introduction of 2D array ultrasound transducers on the market will soon make instantaneous volumetric ultrasound acquisition available in the clinical practice. Moreover, the CMUT (Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasound Transducer) technology, which is currently in the phase of prototyping, will offer superior and efficient volumetric ultrasound imaging. But one drawback that remains is the limited field-of-view (FOV) of the acquired images. Toward this end, volume stitching, meaning the...     »