Rigid motion compensation with a robotized 2D ultrasound probe using speckle information and visual servoing

This work deals with the use of speckle information contained in 2D B-mode ultrasound images to control the displacement of a robotized ultrasound probe with a visual servoing control scheme. The objective is to automatically synchronize the displacement of a conventional 2D ultrasound probe held by a medical robot in such a way to stabilize the image of a moving soft tissue. Such a workable method operating on 2D ultrasound images could be exploited in a host of clinical applications. For example, in diagnostic ultrasound imaging, one could automatically move the ultrasound probe to maintain the optimal view of moving soft tissue targets; or in biopsies and localized therapy procedures, one could synchronize the insertion of needles or other surgical tools into a moving target observed in live ultrasound.