US 2004/0024316 A1Published application

Block-switching in ultrasound imaging

AssigneeZonare Medical Systems, Inc.

InventorsXufeng Xi, Glen McLaughlin, Umit Tarakci

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Abstract

Systems and methods of generating and manipulating an ultrasound beam are disclosed. The methods include using selective sets of ultrasound elements to generate an ultrasound beam, scanning the beam over a series of ultrasound elements in order to collected echo data covering an area, and generating an image from the resulting data. The scanning process includes shifting the set of ultrasound elements used to form the ultrasound beam by more then one ultrasound element (block-switching) between each step in the scanning process. This is accomplished without loss of image resolution by using area-forming techniques. The block-switching technique enables use of cross-correlation methods during image construction.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An ultrasound system comprising:

a scan head having a plurality of ultrasound transducer elements for producing ultrasound beams;
a first subset of the plurality of ultrasound transducer elements for producing a first ultrasound beam;
a second subset of the plurality of ultrasound transducer elements, that is displaced by more than one transducer element from the first subset, and for producing a second ultrasound beam;
a third subset of the plurality of ultrasound transducer elements, that is displaced by more than one transducer element from the second subset, and for producing a third ultrasound beam;
and
a transmit switch for coupling the plurality of ultrasound transducer elements to a beam transmitter;
wherein, the second subset is the only subset of the plurality of ultrasound transducer elements operative between a time the first subset is operative and a time the third subset is operative.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/039,922Filed 20 Oct 2001
Published: 5 Feb 2004
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

G01S 15/8927
Using a transducer array: using simultaneously or sequentially two or more subarrays or subapertures
G01S 7/5202
Details of transmitters: for pulse systems
G01S 15/8993
Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques: three dimensional imaging systems
G01S 15/8995
Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques: combining images from different aspect angles, e.g. spatial…

Family

US 6,773,399 B2Related patent
US 2004/0024316 A1This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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