Time Warping Approach to Overcome Motion Artifact's Influence on Automated Arterial Wall Identification: Proof-of-Concept

Ultrasound measurement of arterial geometric properties is a fundamental need concerning cardiovascular disease management, as it is required for the assessment of endothelial function, stiffness and other functional properties. In this regard automated recognition of artery is an inevitable requirement. A key concern in this regard, however, is the presence of motion artefacts, which pose even larger challenges when dealing with radio-frequency (RF) signal processing for high-speed applications. We have earlier reported one such RF signal processing approach for arterial wall recognition. In this work we are proposing an improved method that is robust to motion artefacts. This work presents a proof-of-concept of the same supported by an in-silico based verification study. A-mode RF frames were simulated, particularly incorporating the influence of larger motion artefacts over smaller shifts owing to arterial wall motion. The study results established that the method is capable of reliably estimating the corrupted shifts caused due to motion artefacts with an error < 5%. Furthermore, the method could compensate for the influence of the motion artefacts to reliably locate the arterial wall echoes. The potential of the method is underscored by its ability to perform reliable recognition tasks regardless of the magnitude and direction of the shifts caused due to motion artefacts. In all the simulated cases, the effect of the artefacts was efficiently nullified in order to furnish the accurate locations of the arterial walls. It was also validated that the scope of the method extends to performing reliable recognition of the arterial wall despite the presence of other static and dynamic echoes.