A better image

University of Virginia Engineering School Associate Professor William F. Walker and Research Associate Francesco Viola have developed an imaging algorithm  that promises to literally transform the way we see things.

Together with graduate student Michael Ellis, they have created a new method processing signals that can be used with a range of imaging and sensing systems including ultrasound, radar, sonar, telecommunications, and even a few optical imaging systems.

Called the Time-domain Optimized Near-field Estimator (TONE), their novel adaptive beamforming algorithm enhances the effectiveness of medical ultrasound imaging, providing medical professionals with dramatically improved image resolution and contrast.

For over fifty years, adaptive beamforming (ABF) algorithms have been applied in radar and sonar signal processing. These algorithms reduce the contribution of undesired off-axis signals while maintaining a desired response along a specific direction. Typically, ABF achieves higher resolution and contrast than conventional beamforming (CBF), at the price of an increased computational load. Now, the researchers have brought the same ABF technique to the medical field.