Quantifying Elevational vs. Azimuthal Transducer Motion for Novice User Guidance

Blind sweep imaging techniques allow novice users to perform antenatal screenings in lieu of expert sonographers. Compliance with the blind sweep protocol is crucial for accurate antenatal screening. Non-compliant ultrasound probe motion along its azimuthal axis results in overlapping frames and reduced anatomical coverage. This study investigates the ability of inter-frame cross-correlation to detect non-compliant motion. Using data from 14 patients acquired with a Lumify C5-2 transducer, inter-frame cross-correlation was used to detect the primary motion component of a sweep (elevational/azimuthal). This method was able to accurately distinguish between elevational and azimuthal blind sweep motion, with only one misclassified oblique case. These results highlight the method's potential for improving image quality control for novice user-performed antenatal screening. Future research will focus on interpretation and discrimination of oblique cases.