# US 2013/0158404 A1 · System and method for three-dimensional ultrasound imaging > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2013/0158404 A1 - Document ID: US20130158404A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/673,987 - Filed: 2012-11-09 - Published: 2013-06-20 - Earliest claimed: 2007-08-06 - Assignees: Orison, Inc. - Inventors: Farhad Towfiq; Lawrence J. Busse; Stephen J. Douglas; Mark L. Stribling - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20130158404A1 ## CPC - A61B 8/4494: {characterised by the arrangement of the transducer elements} - A61B 5/7264: {Classification of physiological signals or data, e.g. using neural networks, statistical classifiers, expert systems or fuzzy systems} - A61B 8/0825: {for diagnosis of the breast, e.g. mammography} - A61B 8/145: {characterised by scanning multiple planes} - A61B 8/406: {using means for diagnosing suspended breasts} - A61B 8/4461: {Features of the scanning mechanism, e.g. for moving the transducer within the housing of the probe} - A61B 8/4483: {characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer} - A61B 8/483: {involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data} - A61B 8/5207: {involving processing of raw data to produce diagnostic data, e.g. for generating an image} - A61B 8/5253: {combining overlapping images, e.g. spatial compounding} - B06B 1/0629: {Square array} - G01S 7/52046: {Techniques for image enhancement involving transmitter or receiver (image enhancement by image data processing G06T5/00)} - G01S 7/52085: {Details related to the ultrasound signal acquisition, e.g. scan sequences (control of medical diagnostic ultrasound devices A61B8/54)} - G01S 15/892: {the array being curvilinear} - G01S 15/8925: {the array being a two-dimensional transducer configuration, i.e. matrix or orthogonal linear arrays} - G01S 15/894: {by rotation about a single axis} - G01S 15/8993: {Three dimensional imaging systems} - G10K 11/30: using refraction, e.g. acoustic lenses - A61B 8/13: Tomography (A61B8/10, A61B8/12 take precedence) - A61B 2560/0475: Special features of memory means, e.g. removable memory cards - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - B06B: METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS OF INFRASONIC, SONIC, OR ULTRASONIC FREQUENCY, {e.g.} FOR PERFORMING MECHANICAL WORK IN GENERAL (for particular applications, see the relevant subclasses, e.g. B07B1/40, B23Q17/12, B24B31/06; measurement of mechanical vibrations G01H; in direction finding, locating, distance or velocity measuring G01S; {generating seismic energy G01V1/02}; control of mechanical vibrations in general G05D; sound-producing devices, e.g. bells, sirens, whistles G10K, {e.g. methods or devices for transmitting, conducting, or directing sound in general G10K11/00}; generation of electrical oscillations H03B; electromechanical resonators in general H03H; electromechanical transducers {for communication techniques, e.g. microphones, speakers} H04R) - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES - G10K: SOUND-PRODUCING DEVICES; METHODS OR DEVICES FOR PROTECTING AGAINST, OR FOR DAMPING, NOISE OR OTHER ACOUSTIC WAVES IN GENERAL; ACOUSTICS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR ## Abstract Under one aspect, an ultrasound system for producing a representation of an object includes: a concave transducer array configured to transmit ultrasonic pulses into the object and to receive ultrasonic pulses from the object, the ultrasonic pulses from the object containing structural information about the object, each transducer in the array generating an output signal representative of a portion of the structural information about the object; a multi-focal lens structure for focusing the transmitted ultrasonic pulses; a multiplexing structure in operable communication with the concave transducer array and including logic for coupling the output signals from at least one pair of transducers in the concave transducer array; and a beamformer in operable communication with the multiplexing structure and including logic for constructing a representation of structural information about the object based on the coupled output signals from the multiplexing structure. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An ultrasound system for producing a representation of an object, the system comprising: a concave transducer array configured to transmit ultrasonic pulses into the object and to receive ultrasonic pulses from the object, wherein the ultrasonic pulses from the object contain structural information about the object, and wherein each transducer in the array generates an output signal representative of a portion of the structural information about the object; a multi-focal lens structure for focusing the transmitted ultrasonic pulses; a multiplexing structure in operable communication with the concave transducer array and including logic for coupling the output signals from at least one pair of transducers in the concave transducer array; and a beamformer in operable communication with the multiplexing structure and including logic for constructing a representation of structural information about the object based on the coupled output signals from the multiplexing structure. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the concave transducer array comprises multiple rows of transducers. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2, wherein the logic of the multiplexing structure includes instructions for varying at least one of a depth to which the ultrasonic pulses penetrate the object and an f-number of the array by uncoupling a subset of the transducers from the beamformer. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising a dome configured to accept the object, wherein the concave transducer array is mounted over a slit in the dome. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The system of claim 4, further comprising a motor for rotating the concave transducer array about an axis of the dome, wherein the logic of the beamformer is configured to create image slices of the object located inside the dome as the motor rotates the array. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The system of claim 5, further comprising logic for assembling a three-dimensional representation of the object located inside the dome by combining the stored image slices. ### Claim 7 (depends on 4) The system of claim 4, wherein at least one of the multiplexing structure and the beamformer is mounted on the dome. ### Claim 8 (depends on 4) The system of claim 4, further comprising a probe housing, wherein the dome is constructed and arranged within the housing such that the object can be imaged without compression. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8, wherein the object is a breast. ### Claim 10 A method of producing a representation of an object, the method comprising: transmitting ultrasonic pulses into the object with a concave transducer array; focusing the ultrasonic pulses with a multi-focal lens structure coupled to the array; receiving ultrasonic pulses from the object, the received ultrasonic pulses containing structural information about the object; generating a plurality of output signals, each output signal representative of a portion of the structural information about the object; multiplexing a subset of the output signals; and obtaining a representation of structural information about the object based on the multiplexed subset of output signals. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising receiving ultrasonic pulses from a variety of angles about the object, obtaining image slices of the object based on the received ultrasonic pulses, and creating a three-dimensional rendering oldie object based on the image slices. ### Claim 12 A concave ultrasonic transducer array, comprising: a plurality of curvilinear transducer rows, each transducer row comprising at least one ultrasonic transducer element; and a concave multi-focus lens coupled to the ultrasonic transducer elements. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The array of claim 12, wherein the concave multi-focus lens comprises a plurality of lens rows, one lens row coupled to each curvilinear transducer row. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The array of claim 13, wherein some of the lens rows have at least one of a different dimension and a different focal length than other of the lens rows. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) The array of claim 12, wherein at least some of the transducer rows have a different dimension than other of the transducer rows. ### Claim 16 (depends on 12) The array of claim 12, wherein each row comprises between 100 and 1000 transducer elements. ### Claim 17 (depends on 12) The array of claim 12, wherein each row comprises between 300 and 600 transducer elements. ### Claim at position 18 -21. (canceled) ### Claim 22 A method of multiplexing signals from transducer elements in a concave transducer array, the method comprising: turning on rows of transducer elements in the concave transducer array based on a desired elevational beam performance; turning on columns of transducer elements in the concave transducer array based on a desired azimuthal beam performance; and connecting the turned on rows and columns to a beamformer.