Cross-Modality Registration of 2D Super-Resolution Ultrasound to 3D Micro-CT

Description

For the purpose of super-resolution ultrasound validation, this study presents a parameter-free projection method
for micro-CT volumes that weights the co-registered volume by
the simulated ultrasound energy field. The hypothesis is that
this ultrasound-field-weighted CT maximum intensity projection
(MIP) is indistinguishable from an equidistant MIP over the
slab spanning ±2 standard deviations (the 95 % energy support),
and is comparable to a contrast-free super-resolution ultrasound
image. The ultrasound energy field is used to compute the
thickness for an equidistant CT MIP that renders the greatest
structural similarity index (SSIM) to the weighted CT image.
In rat kidney data, the weighted CT projection achieved a
peak SSIM of 97.2 % against the 0.45 mm equidistant MIP, and
a projection distance of 0.72 mm corresponds to 95 % energy
support in the ultrasound field. These results demonstrate that
ultrasound-field-weighted CT MIPs yield images quantitatively
equivalent to both equidistant MIPs and contrast-free superresolution ultrasound, providing an improved framework for
rigorous super-resolution validation.

Period	16 Sept 2025
Event title	2025 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium
Event type	Conference
Location	Utrecht, NetherlandsShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International