Synchronized phased array data acquisition from multiple acoustic windows

A method for synchronized ultrasound phased-array data acquisition from a pair of side-by-side, spaced apart acoustic windows of a pair of imaging probes respectively facing opposite sides of a central region to be imaged, comprising:

• using the pair of acoustic windows of the pair of imaging probes interleavingly to dynamically scan jointly in a single lateral direction in imaging the central region, wherein the data acquisition in the dynamically scan being along a synchronization line, wherein the synchronization line includes a portion residing within the central region and extending laterally across the central region, wherein the data acquisition via the air of acoustic windows alternates between the two acoustic windows in the central region, and wherein the dynamically scan is monotonically progressive in the single lateral direction, and the single lateral direction is a direction between the pair of acoustic windows;
• beamforming to yield beamformed samples, wherein the beamformed samples are associated with corresponding spatial locations, and wherein the synchronization line is traversed by the beamformed samples;
• and
• dynamically reconstructing, based on the beamformed samples, spatially intermediate pixels corresponding to spatial locations different than the spatial locations of the beamformed samples, wherein the beamformed samples are correspondingly derived from the data acquisition through respective different acoustic windows, and wherein the dynamically reconstructing is further based on a temporal weighting of the beamformed samples, wherein the temporal weighting is inversely proportional to a relative recency of the beamformed samples.

A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying a program for scan conversion based on beamformed samples, the program having instructions executable by a processor for performing a plurality of acts, among the plurality of acts there being the acts of:

• deriving the beamformed samples from acquisition through respectively different acoustic windows of a pair imaging probes, wherein the beamformed samples are associated with corresponding spatial locations, and wherein the acquisition is performed in a scan and the acquisition via the different acoustic windows alternates between the different acoustic windows in a central region of the scan, wherein the acquisition progresses in a same direction along a synchronization line, wherein the synchronization line includes a portion residing within the central region and extends laterally across the central region, wherein the acquisition via the different acoustic windows is performed along the portion residing within the central region, and during joint and interleaving scan between the pair of imaging probes, and wherein the synchronization line is traversed by the beamformed samples;
• and
• dynamically reconstructing spatially intermediate, pixels corresponding to spatial locations different than the spatial locations of the beamformed samples based, in part, on temporal weighting of the beamformed samples, and wherein the temporal weighting is inversely proportional to a relative recency of the beamformed samples.