Accurate time delay estimation method and system for use in ultrasound imaging
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsKenneth Rigby, Christopher Hazard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for correcting beamforming time delay in an ultrasound system is provided. The method comprises transmitting a beam of ultrasound energy into an object with a transmit beamforming time delay. The method further comprises receiving a plurality of echo signals with a receive beamforming time delay and estimating beamforming time delay errors for each echo signal and each imaging direction. The method further comprises correcting the transmit and receive beamforming time delays and generating an ultrasound image of the object using the corrected transmission and reception beamforming time delays.
Claims30
A method for correcting beamforming time delays in an ultrasound system, the method comprising;
- transmitting a beam of ultrasound energy through an object using an array of transducer elements, wherein each transducer element is configured to transmit the beam of ultrasound energy with a transmit beamforming time delay;
- receiving a plurality of echo signals wherein each transducer element is configured to receive the beam of ultrasound energy with a receive beamforming time delay;
- estimating beamforming time delay errors for each echo signal and each imaging direction;
- correcting the transmit and receive beamforming time delays;
- generating an ultrasound image of the object using the corrected transmission and reception beamforming time delays.
An ultrasound system for estimating beamforming time delay, the ultrasound system comprising:
- a transducer array having a set of array elements disposed in a pattern, each of the elements being separately operable to transmit a beam of ultrasound energy into an object during a transmission mode and to produce an echo signal in response to vibratory energy impinging on the transducer during a receive mode;
- a transmitter coupled to the transducer array and being operable during the transmission mode to apply a separate transmit signal pulse with a respective transmit beamforming time delay to each of the array elements such that a directed transmit beam is produced;
- a receiver coupled to the transducer array and being operable during the receive mode to sample the echo signal produced by each of the array elements and to impose an receive beamforming time delay on each said echo signal sample to generate a corresponding plurality of receive signals;
- a beamformer system configured to estimate the arrival time errors for each echo signal and each imaging direction and correct the transmission and receive beamforming time delay;
- and
- an image processor configured to generate an ultrasound image.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.