A Model-Guided Method for Ultrasound Probe Calibration

Objective: Ultrasound (US) probe calibration is critical for the localized ultrasound system. Key points and surfaces are often used for calibration, whose accuracy is restricted by the ultrasound volume effect. The aim of this paper is to accurately calibrate the US probe under volume effect. Method: We present a model-guided ultrasound probe calibration method, to provide accurate calibration results under volume effect. First, we design a rotationally symmetric calibration phantom unit to provide image areas weekly affected by volume effect during continuous scanning. Second, US images from the uncalibrated probe are used to reconstruct the 3D image volume. Finally, we use image registration and point registration for super-resolution unification of US images, the model and the tracking device. Results: In multiple probe calibration experiments at different probe depths, the average calibration precision was 0.163 mm; in the needle tip tracking experiment, the average detection accuracy was 0.335 mm. Conclusion: Guided by the specially designed model, our method can realize precise and accurate ultrasound probe calibration under volume effect.