Application of Kalman Filtering Techniques to Diagnostic Ultrasound

Kalman filtering techniques are applied to ultrasound signals to improve resolution capability and to extract tissue characterization information. A state-space representation of the propagating acoustic pulse, required for tractability by Kalman filtering, is described. A recently developed reflection coefficient estimator is applied to simulated and observed data using 2nd, 4th, and 6th order system model approximations. A state-space representation of a second order system is derived.