Elastographic axial resolution criteria: an experimental study

Abstract

In elastography, window size has been typically used synonymously with resolution. Strain is estimated by computing the gradient of the displacement estimates, which have a direct dependence on the window size. However, the resolution is also dependent on the separation between these windows. The intricate relationship between the window size, window shift, and resolution has not previously been explored. In this article, we perform a controlled simulation experiment to evaluate the relationship among elastographic axial resolution, window size, and window shift. We conclude that the axial resolution can be expressed as a bilinear function of window size and window shift, the latter having a much larger weight.