Combined use of iteration, quadratic interpolation and an extra kernel forhigh-resolution 2D particle tracking: A first evaluation

A novel 2D particle tracking method, that uses 1) iteration, 2) fastquadratic sub-pixel estimation (with only 28 multiplications per movement), and3) a previous kernel, has been evaluated and compared with a full-searchblock-matching method. The comparison with high-frequency ultrasound data (40MHz) was conducted in silico and on phantoms, which comprised lateral, diagonal,and ellipsoidal movement patterns with speeds of 0-15 mm/s. The mean trackingerror was reduced by 68% in silico and 71% for the phantom measurements. Whenonly sub-pixel estimation was used, the decrease in the tracking error was 61%in silico and 57% for the phantom measurements. As well as decreasing thetracking error, the new method only used 70% of the computational time needed bythe full-search block-matching method. With a fast method having good trackingability for high-frequency ultrasound data, we now have a tool to betterinvestigate tissue movements and its dynamic functionality.