Statistical model of clutter suppression in tissue harmonic imaging.

A statistical model is developed for the suppression of clutter in tissue harmonic imaging (THI). Tissue heterogeneity is modeled as a random phase screen that is characterized by its correlation length and variance. With the autocorrelation function taken to be Gaussian and for small variance, statistical solutions are derived for the mean intensities at the fundamental and second-harmonic frequencies in the field of a focused sound beam that propagates through the phase screen. The statistical solutions are verified by comparison with ensemble averaging of direct numerical simulations. The model demonstrates that THI reduces the aberration clutter appearing in the focal region regardless of the depth of the aberrating layer, with suppression of the clutter most effective when the layer is close to the source. The model is also applied to the reverberation clutter that is transmitted forward along the axis of the beam. As with aberration clutter, suppression of such reverberation clutter by THI is most pronounced when the tissue heterogeneity is located close to the source.