Apparatus and method for ultrasound imaging

An apparatus, comprising:

• a convex probe comprising a plurality of transducer elements configured to transmit a plurality of sets of ultrasound signals, each of the plurality of sets of ultrasound signals comprising a non-steered frame and at least one steered frame angled to the non-steered frame;
• and
• a processing unit coupled to the convex probe and configured to:
• receive ultrasound echo signals for each of the plurality of sets of ultrasound signals,
• generate a non-steered image and at least one needle-enhancement image using the ultrasound echo signals, and
• combine the non-steered image and the at least one needle-enhancement image into a compound image.

A method, comprising:

• transmitting a plurality of sets of ultrasound signals from a plurality of transducer elements of a convex probe, each of the plurality of sets of ultrasound signals comprising a non-steered frame and at least one steered frame angled to the non-steered frame;
• receiving a non-steered echo frame for the non-steered fame and at least one steered echo frame for the at least one steered frame;
• generating a non-steered image using the non-steered echo frame and at least one needle-enhancement image using the at least one steered echo frame;
• and
• combining the non-steered image and the at least one needle-enhancement image into a compound image.