Estimation of the Size of Structural Formations in Ultrasound Imaging through Statistical Analysis of the Echo Signal

A fundamentally new approach to solving the problem of determining the size of structural formations in ultrasonic diagnostics is considered. The approach is based on the theoretically justified possibility of estimating the size of inhomogeneities of the studied medium by analyzing the statistical characteristics of an ultrasonic signal scattered on these inhomogeneities. This possibility is conditioned by the fact that the statistical distribution of ultrasound image data varies from Rayleigh distribution to Rice distribution depending on the relation between the coherence area size of the scattered signal and the beamwidth. The work aims at the development of a new method of statistical data analysis that will effectively detect a significant coherent component in the echo signal, thereby providing a mathematical tool for estimating the size of medium inhomogeneities in ultrasound imaging. This approach to ultrasound image analysis would provide the possibility of quantitative estimation of structural formations, which would lead to a significant increase in the information value of ultrasound diagnostics, and the possibility of early pathology detection, opening perspectives for an increase in treatment effectiveness.