Evaluation of the Local Speed-of-Sound Estimation for the Correction of Ultrasound Compound Imaging by Speckle Analysis

In several applications like ultrasound based registration in navigated surgery, geometrically correct reconstructed ultrasound images are crucial for diagnostic and therapeutic success. The spatial information in ultrasound images is derived from the round trip propagation delay and an assumed speed-of-sound, which is 1540m/s for most ultrasound systems. Since different tissue types have different speeds-of-sound, geometrical information can be incorrect and spatial deformation in the resulting B-mode image might account for up to 5 mm.