On Speckle Noise Reduction In Medical Ultrasound Images

In general, one of the main problems to be solved in the processing of biomedical images is the noise reduction. The problem is particularly important if the noise has a multiplicative nature (speckle). We present a review of techniques that can be used to reduce this kind of noise in ultrasound images. That techniques have been used on B-mode echocardiograms with four-chamber view, selecting and tuning the most appropriate in this application. Procedures for non-linear filtering, adaptive techniques based on order statistics and certain types of interpolation are shown as the most suitable for this end in view of the results. Key–Words: Speckle noise, filtering, adaptive filters, image processing, biomedical image