Blood-flow volume estimation with bi-plane imaging

Blood-flow volume (BFV) is clinically relevant as its alteration can be associated to cerebrovascular disorders. The typical methods to assess BFV with ultrasound are based on a longitudinal view of the artery and involve rough approximations that produce inaccurate BFV estimates. In this work, we propose to use a bi-plane imaging method capable of increasing the accuracy and reproducibility of BFV estimates. We have used the ULA-OP 256 research scanner connected to a 256-element sparse spiral array to produce, in real-time, both the transverse and longitudinal B-Mode images of the vessel under investigation. The vessel wall positions are accurately estimated through a wall tracking algorithm and the flow behavior is detected through high frame rate color flow mapping. The accuracy and repeatability of the proposed method have been assessed through phantom experiments and a preliminary in-vivo test.