Design and Performance Evaluation of Huffman Sequences for Medical Ultrasound Coding Excitation

This paper deals with coded-excitation techniques for ultrasound medical echography. Specifically, linear Huffman coding is proposed as an alternative approach to other widely established techniques, such as complementary Golay coding and linear frequency modulation. The code design is guided by an optimization procedure that boosts the signal-to-noise ratio gain (GSNR) and, interestingly, also makes the code robust in pulsed-Doppler applications. The paper capitalizes on a thorough analytical model that can be used to design any linear coded-excitation system. This model highlights that the performance in frequency-dependent attenuating media mostly depends on the pulse-shaping waveform when the codes are characterized by almost ideal (i.e., Kronecker delta) autocorrelation. In this framework, different pulse shapers and different code lengths are considered to identify coded signals that optimize the contrast resolution at the output of the receiver pulse compression. Computer simulations confirm that the proposed Huffman codes are particularly effective, and that there are scenarios in which they may be preferable to the other established approaches, both in attenuating and non-attenuating media. Specifically, for a single scatterer at 150 mm in a 0.7-dB/(MHz·cm) attenuating medium, the proposed Huffman design achieves a main-to-side lobe ratio (MSR) equal to 65 dB, whereas tapered linear frequency modulation and classical complementary Golay codes achieve 35 and 45 dB, respectively.