Project description
Enhancing ultrasound image quality: beginning with the end in mind
Improving the image quality of low-cost ultrasound imaging would enhance access to diagnostics. Funded by the European Research Council, the US-ACT project sees ultrasound as a perception action device, the action being acquiring information about the human body and the perception being the reconstruction of that anatomy. The project plans to enhance image quality by closing the perception-action loop, using perception to drive acquisition. Leveraging mathematics and the concept of manifold dimensionality, the project will deliver strong perception models based on advanced deep generative networks. Using the pure anatomy described by the generative model, acquisition will identify the point on its low-dimensional manifold, the reduced data that retains the accuracy required for the task.
Objective
Ultrasound (US) can revolutionize and democratize medical imaging if it offers: (1) access for everyone, and (2) excellent Image Quality (IQ). MRI offers (2) but is expensive and will thus not likely be able to provide (1). Low-cost US hardware technology will enable (1) in the future but is not expected to yield the needed breakthrough for (2). Consequently, any paradigm-shifting advance in signal processing technology that achieves US with excellent IQ will have a huge impact.
I propose a conceptually new and highly-unconventional approach that I believe can lead to a new generation of US technologies with excellent IQ. I will formally describe US systems as intelligent autonomous agents that perform actions and perception using probabilistic inference: the action is the acquisition, probing the world, and the perception is the reconstruction that infers what anatomy most likely generated the acquired US data. I conclude that current US systems are in essence flawed agents since (1) actions are not driven by perception, i.e. the perception-action loop is broken, and (2) their generative perception models are naive. My proposal will address this by closing the perception-action loop and offering strong perception models based on advanced deep generative networks. This breaks a fundamental tenet in US imaging, where I put forth the important concept that the acquisition and perception should work together to identify the point on the low-dimensional manifold of pure anatomy (described by the generative model) that is being imaged.
My intelligent US agents will pursue excellent IQ under the heading of a single probabilistic principle: minimization of ``surprise’’ under the agent’s own prior belief (the generative model) that such high-quality images can indeed be achieved. With this, we open a new frontier within active imaging (in US and beyond) where data acquisition and information processing are treated jointly based on expressive generative density functions.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2022-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
5612 AE Eindhoven
Netherlands
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