Established standard techniques in diagnostic ultrasound imaging, such as B-mode, beamforming using delay-and-sum (DAS) and synthetic aperture (SA) techniques, are based on highly simplified physical models for the propagation of sound waves in biological materials. These simplifications can lead to undesirable image artifacts that make correct interpretation of ultrasound images much more difficult. Moreover, it is not clear which mechanical parameters of the investigated inhomogeneous biological material are imaged.

The Chair of Medical Engineering is therefore developing imaging methods that take into account the propagation, reflection and scattering of sound waves in biological materials as accurately as possible. Such methods are based on (linearized) wave equations for soft tissue (inhomogeneous fluids) or bone structures (inhomogeneous solids).