An improved approach to reconstructive ultrasound tomography

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Abstract
Analogous to reconstructive X-ray tomography one can determine the spatial distribution of the acoustic absorption coefficient or the acoustic refractive index within an object from many 'projections' of the object taken with ultrasound beams instead of X-rays. However, the reconstruction quality obtained so far is insufficient, mainly since the mathematical models employed assume the beams, propagating along straight lines which is not sufficiently satisfied. An improved mathematical model and a pertinent reconstruction algorithm are presented which take the bending of the beams into account and yield substantially improved reconstructions.