Congratulations to Kelley Kempski! Her first-author journal paper entitled Application of the generalized contrast-to-noise ratio to assess photoacoustic image quality was published in Biomedical Optics Express.
This paper investigates a newly developed, probability-based, generalized contrast-to-noise (gCNR) when applied to photoacoustic images. More traditional metrics experience large variations when a target is fully detectable with additional increases bearing no impact on photoacoustic target detectability. In addition, gCNR is robust to changes in traditional metrics introduced by applying a minimum threshold to image amplitudes. Therefore, gCNR has promising potential to provide additional insight, particularly when designing new beamformers and image formation techniques and when reporting quantitative performance without an opportunity to qualitatively assess corresponding images (e.g., in text-only abstracts). We recommend gCNR as a new standard for assessment of novel photoacoustic beamforming and image formation techniques.
Citation: Kempski KM, Graham MT, Gubbi MR, Palmer T, Bell MAL, Application of the generalized contrast-to-noise ratio to assess photoacoustic image quality, Biomedical Optics Express, 11(7), 3684-3698, 2020 [pdf]