Three-dimensional ultrasound matrix imaging

Matrix imaging paves the way towards a next revolution in wave physics. Based on the response matrix recorded between a set of sensors, it enables an optimized compensation of aberration phenomena and multiple scattering events that usually drastically hinder the focusing process in heterogeneous media. Although it gave rise to spectacular results in optical microscopy or seismic imaging, the success of matrix imaging has been so far relatively limited with ultrasonic waves because wave control is generally only performed with a linear array of transducers [1]. In this talk, we will extend ultrasound matrix imaging to a 3D geometry [2]. Switching from a 1D to a 2D probe enables a sharper estimation of the transmission matrix that links each transducer and each medium voxel. Here, we first present an experimental proof of concept on a tissue-mimicking phantom through ex vivo tissues and then show the potential of our reflection matrix approach for transcranial imaging, with applications to ultrasound localization microscopy of a sheep brain [3]. [1] W. Lambert et al., Proc. Natl. Ac. Sci. U. S. A. 117, 14645–14656 (2020) [2] F. Bureau et al., Nat. Commun. 14, 6793 (2023) [3] F. Bureau, L. Denis et al., (to be submitted).